Ephedra pedunculata

Clap-weed
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Gnetophyta
Class: Gnetopsida
Order: Gnetales
Family: Ephedraceae
Genus: Ephedra
Species: E. pedunculata
Binomial name
Ephedra pedunculata
Engelm. ex S. Watson

Ephedra pedunculata, common name Clap-weed, vine Mormon tea or Comida de Vívora, is a plant species native to southern Texas and to Mexico as far south as Zacatecas. It grows in sandy or rocky slopes and outcrops.[1][2]

Most species of Ephedra (called "Mormon tea") are shrubs, but Ephedra pedunculata is a trailing or clambering woody vine up to 7 m (23 feet) long. Bark is gray, becoming cracked with age. Leaves are opposite, up to 3 mm (0.12 inches) long. Microsporangial (pollen-producing cones) are 1–2 mm long, compared to less than 1 mm in many other species. Seed cones are 6–10 mm (0.24-0.40 inches) long, each containing 2 ellipsoid seeds 4–10 mm (0.16-0.40 inches) long.[3][4][5]

References

  1. Flora of North America v 2
  2. CONABIO. 2009. Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. 1. In Capital Nat. México. CONABIO, Mexico D.F.
  3. Watson, Sereno. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 18: 157. 1883.
  4. Cutler, H. C. 1939. Monograph of the North American species of the genus Ephedra. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 26: 373--427.
  5. Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas i–xv, 1–1881. The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson.
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