Description
Ephedra – Joint Fir – Mormon – Tea – Mexican Tea –
There are about 40 species of usually dioecious, evergreen shrubs, occasionally climbers, in this genus. They occur in dry, rocky sites from Southern Europe to China and in North and South America. They have green shoots and tiny, opposite, scale like leaves, which are present for a brief period after rains, and are valued for their red spherical, berry like fruits, which, on females, follows the ½” across, yellow flowers. Grow as a ground cover in a shrub border or rock garden. Some species are used medicinally as stimulants, may be toxic.
Grow in poor to moderately fertile, sharply drained light soil in full sun. Tolerant of dry conditions. Divide in autumn or spring.
Prone to rust.
E. distachya – This sprawling, thicket forming shrub found from Southern Europe to Siberia grows 3′ feet tall and 10′ feet wide. It produces straight to arching, jointed, blue green to dark green shoots. In summer it bears insignificant, yellowish-green flowers, followed in autumn by spherical red fruit, to 1/4″ across.
Zones 3-8
