Ephedra cutleri
Peebles
Desert tea, Mormon tea
(c) Matt Berger, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Matt Berger
(c) CredibleCorvid, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) CredibleCorvid, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves - tea
A food source for animals, there are differing views as to whether the plant has any medicinal properties for humans with the exception of brewing Mormon tea. Native Americans in the Four Corners region have made use of the plant in various ways. The seeds were sometimes roasted and ground into flour, while the plant could also be used for making light tan or reddish dyes, as well as used in the process of tanning animal hides.
Where to Find It
It is a temperate plant.
North America, USA,
How to Identify
A shrub.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Ephedra cutleri, the Navajo ephedra or Cutler's jointfir, is a species of Ephedra that is native to the Southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming).
Notes
It has also been put in the family Gnetaceae
Names & Synonyms
References (1)
- Reis, S. V. and Lipp, F. L., 1982, New Plant Sources for Drugs and Foods from the New York Botanical Garden herbarium. Harvard. p 7
