Illustration, from Martínez Carretero (2018).
A large plant in habitat, Chile; iNaturalist observation 29922585 [Vicente Pantoja, 2019.07.31].
Plant in habitat, Chile, showing the distinctive leaves; iNaturalist observation 81774927 [Carolina Fuentes, 2021.06.04].
Active pollen cones on a plant in habitat, Chile; iNaturalist observation 94490456 [Macarena Andrea Villalobos Farías, 2021.09.11].
Yellowish fruits and leaves on a plant in habitat, Chile; iNaturalist observation 73528404 [Joaquin Sepulveda, 2017.12.13].
Yellowish fruits and leaves on a plant in habitat, Chile; iNaturalist observation 23025912 [orlandomontes, 2018.11.22].
A plant in habitat, Chile, illustrating the rhizomatous habit; iNaturalist observation 62081890 [ludovica, 2020.10.03].
Conservation Status
Ephedra chilensis
C.Presl (1845)
Common names
Jointfir, pinco-pinco (or pingo-pingo).
Taxonomic notes
Synonymy:
- Ephedra bracteata Miers;
- Ephedra andina Poepp. ex C.A. Mey.;
- Ephedra andina Poepp. & Endl.;
- Ephedra chilensis Miers;
- Ephedra dumosa Miers;
- Ephedra monticola Miers;
- Ephedra americana var. andina (Poepp. ex C.A.Mey.) Stapf; and
- Ephedra araucana Phil..
Description
Dioecious subshrubs or shrubs to 1.5 m tall. Rhizomatous. Young branches upright. Leaves (2.5-)3-9(-12) mm, decussate. Pollen cones globose or ovoid, simple or branched, sessile or pedunculate, terminal or axillary; bracts decussate, fused for up to 1/2 of their length. Pollen cones fleshy when ripe, globose, pink or red. Seeds 2, covered by the upper pair of bracts (Martínez Carretero 2018).
Martínez Carretero (2018) also gives a key to the six Argentine species of Ephedra.
Distribution and Ecology
Argentina: Mendoza, Neuquén; Chile: Maule, Valparaíso, Antofagasta, Santiago; perhaps Bolivia; at elevations of 300-3850 m in shrubland, rocky areas, and desert (Bell and Bachman 2011). The distribution is primarily in Chile.
Note that since the IUCN (assessment by Bell and Bachman 2011) treats E. gracilis as a synonym of E. chilensis, conservation assessments and range data for the two taxa are conflated. E. gracilis has a smaller distribution that falls within the Chilean range of E. chilensis.
Remarkable Specimens
No data as of 2026-01-15.
Ethnobotany
No data as of 2026-01-15.
Observations
No data as of 2026-01-15.
Remarks
The epithet means "of Chile".
Citations
Bell, A. and S. Bachman. 2011. Ephedra chilensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/201695/9167159, accessed 2021.12.27.
Huxley, A. 1992. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press (as E. americana var. andina).
Martínez Carretero, Eduardo. 2018. Ephedraceae Dumort. in Flora de Mendoza, Multequina 27: Fascículo 10, FM 1-9. Available: https://www.redalyc.org/jatsRepo/428/42857911008/42857911008.pdf, accessed 2021.12.26.
Presl, Karl B. 1845. Botanische Bemerkungen. Abh. Königl. Böhm. Ges. Wiss., ser. 5, 3: 539. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2021.12.27.
See also
Species profile at Plants of the World Online, accessed 2021.12.27.
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