Ephedra fasciculata

A. Nelson 1934

Common names

Fasciculate ephedra (Stevenson 1993).

Taxonomic notes

Syn: Ephedra clokeyi H.C. Cutler 1939; E. fasciculata A. Nelson var. clokeyi (Cutler) Clokey 1945 (Stevenson 1993). Type locality "in the hot dry banks of a sandy wash, in low hills near Phoenix, Arizona, May 1, 1925," where collected by Nelson (Nelson 1934).

Description

"Shrubs erect or prostrate, 0.5-1 m. Bark gray, cracked and fissured. Branches opposite or whorled, rigid, angle of divergence about 30°. Twigs pale green, becoming yellow with age, not viscid, usually smooth or very slightly scabrous, with numerous longitudinal grooves; internodes 1-5 cm. Terminal buds conic, 1-3 mm, apex obtuse. Leaves opposite, 1-3 mm, connate to 1/2-3/4 their length; bases membranous, brown, shredding and becoming gray with age, ± persistent; apex obtuse. Pollen cones 2-several at node, ellipsoid to obovoid, 4-8 mm, sessile; bracts opposite, 4-8 pairs, light yellow, obovate, 2-3 × 2 mm, membranous, slightly connate at base; bracteoles exceeding bracts; sporangiophores 3-9 mm, 1/4-3/4 exserted, with 6-10 sessile to short-stalked (less than 1 mm) microsporangia. Seed cones 2-several at node, obovoid to ellipsoid, 6-13 mm, sessile or on short peduncles; bracts opposite, 4-7 pairs, elliptic, 3-7 × 2-4 mm, membranous with light brown to green, thickened center and base, slightly connate at base, margins entire. Seeds 1(-2), ellipsoid, 5-12 × 3-5 mm, light brown, longitudinally furrowed. ... Coning March-April" (Stevenson 1993).

Stevenson (1993) provides this Key to the North American species of Ephedra.

Distribution and Ecology

USA: California, Arizona, Nevada & Utah at 300-1200 m on dry rocky slopes, washes, and sandy areas (Stevenson 1993).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.03.03.

Ethnobotany

Observations

See the observations on iNaturalist, accessed 2021.12.30.

Remarks

The epithet refers to the close bunching of the twigs, a distinctive character reported by Nelson (1934).

Citations

Nelson, A. 1934. Rocky Mountain Herbarium Studies II. American Journal of Botany 21:573-582 (p. 573). Available: https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1537-2197.1934.tb04984.x, accessed 2021.12.31.

See also

Species profile at Plants of the World Online, accessed 2021.12.30.