Ephedra transitoria

Riedl 1961

Common names

الاسم الشائع alanda [Arabic].

Taxonomic notes

No synonyms. Type: Irag: Western desert, 45 km east of Ar-Rutbah [approximately 33.06, 40.77], 1957.06.09, K.H. Rechinger 9953, W. Also collected ca. 260 km. west of Ramadi, ca. 500 m elevation, 1957.06.06-07, K.H. Rechinger 12637.

Kakiuchi et al. (2011), in a study based on analysis of nrITS sequences, place E. transitoria in a well-defined clade with E. sarcocarpa and E. strobilacea, sister to a larger and more complex clade containing many Asian species. Rydin and Korall (2009), using a mix of plastid and nuclear loci, found a similar result but placed the clade sister to E. distachya, a very widespread Eurasian species.

Description

Shrubs, usually 20-50 cm tall, with fissured bark. Branches gray-green with a rough texture, finely furrowed; terminal branches 1-1.5 mm thick, internodes on main branches 3.5-4.5 cm, on thinner branches 2-3 cm long. Leaves 2-4 mm long, acutely triangular; basal sheath 1-2 mm long. Pollen cones unknown. Seed cones sessile at nodes or at the tips of twigs mostly < 2 cm long, 2-3-flowered, fertile cones 6-7 mm in diameter, ripe cones 7-8 mm in diameter, subglobose, fleshy bracts berry-shaped. Bracts united for half their length or more, in pairs or whorls of 3-5, broad-ovate to suborbicular, apiculate, abaxially carinate; lower third of outer bracts adnate, 2/3 to 3/4 of inner bracts connate, margins narrowly membranous. Seeds 2-3, oblong-ovate, indistinctly carinate, the flattened in two-flowered inflorescences, acute or obtuse (Mozaffarian 2010, Riedl 1961).

Distribution and Ecology

Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria; at elevations of 100-600 m in dry desert, often on gravelly plains. Associated with Artemisia sieberi, Achillea fragrantissima, Noaea mucronata, Haloxylon articulatum, Helianthemum lippii and Poa sinaica (Bell and Bachman 2011, Mozaffarian 2010).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.03.03.

Ethnobotany

No general use has been recorded, but studies have identified the composition and structure of unique alkaloids associated with this species, which potentially have pharmacological applications (Khalil et al. 1999, Kateeb et al. 2014).

Observations

There are no observations on iNaturalist (accessed 2022.12.31), but see the type locality above; also GBIF inventories some geolocated herbarium collections.

Remarks

Riedl (1961) explained the origin of the epithet transitoria: "The species seems to be transitional between the tribes Scandentes Stapf and Pachyclada Stapf, as can be seen from the growth habit."

Citations

Bell, A. and S. Bachman. 2011. Ephedra transitoria. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/201708/9170553, accessed 2021.12.29.

Kakiuchi, N., Mikage, M., Ickert-Bond, S., Maier-Stolte, M., and Freitag, H. 2011. A molecular phylogenetic study of the Ephedra distachya / E. sinica complex in Eurasia. Willdenowia 41(2):203–215, doi:10.3372/wi.41.41201.

Kateeb, Exbal Al, Hakeem Al-Ani, Kalid Al-Kadi, Essam D. F. Al-Obaidi, Naeem Shalan, and Nasser Al-Rawi. 2014. Investigation of the alkaloids of two Ephedra spp. wildly grown in Iraq. Jordan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 7(3):191-198.

Khalil, Suleiman Al, Ahmad Alkofahi, Dawud El-Eisawi, and Asfar Al-Shibib. Transtorine, a new quinoline alkaloid from Ephedra transitoria. Journal of Natural Products 61(2):262-263.

Mozaffarian, V. 2010. Three new species and two species records from Iran, Ilam province. Iran. J. Bot. 16(2):204-212.

Riedl, H. 1961. Anzeiger der Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschatliche Klasse. Wien 98:27:xcviii. Available: https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/AAWW_98_0001-0283.pdf, accessed 2022.12.31. Description in Latin; type and commentary in German.

Rydin, C., and P. Korall. 2009. Evolutionary relationships in Ephedra (Gnetales), with implications for seed plant phylogeny. International Journal of Plant Sciences 170(8):1031–1043. doi:10.1086/605116.

See also

Freitag, H. and M. Maier-Stolte. 1994. Ephedraceae, pp. 5-16 and 39-52 in K. Browicz (ed.), Chorology of the Trees and Shrubs in South-west Asia and Adjacent Regions, Bogucki Publishers, Poznan, Poland.

Miller, A. G. and T. A. Cope. 1996. Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.

Species profile at Plants of the World Online, accessed 2021.12.29.