Ephedra fragilis

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

The fruit is eaten raw and has a sweet flavour. It measures about 10mm in diameter.

Where to Find It

It grows in Mediterranean countries. It is naturalised near Melbourne, Australia.

Africa, Australia, Europe, Mediterranean, North Africa, Portugal, Spain,

How to Identify

A scrambling, creeping or climbing shrub. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows 5 m high. It is soft wooded. The stems are flexible. The leaves are scale like. They are dark green and opposite. The plants are separately male and female. In male plants the flowering cluster is almost stalkless. There are 4-8 flowers together. In female plants there are 1-2 flowers. The fruit are 8-9 cm long. The seeds are almost hidden by red bracts.

How to Grow

Requires a well-drained loamy soil and a sunny position. Established plants are drought resistant and are also lime tolerant. Plants are not very hardy in Britain, tolerating a few degrees of frost. The report on medicinal uses refers specifically to E. fragilis campylopoda. (C.A.Meyer.)Ascherson.&Graebner. This plant is growing outdoors at Kew, probably planted in 1968, and seems to be perfectly hardy. It is said to come from N. Asia which is rather confusing since the report on medicinal uses is dealing with native plants of Greece. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation: Sow seed as soon as it is ripe in autumn in a greenhouse, or in spring in a greenhouse using a sandy compost. Prick out seedlings into individual pots once large enough to handle and grow on for at least their first winter under glass. Plant out in spring or early summer after the last expected frosts, with some protection during their first winter. Can also be propagated by division in spring or autumn, or by layering.

Medicinal Uses

Members of this genus contain medicinally active alkaloids, most notably ephedrine, and are widely used in preparations for asthma and catarrh. Using the whole plant at much lower concentrations than the isolated constituents rarely gives rise to side-effects. The plant also has antiviral properties, particularly against influenza. The stems are a pungent, bitter, warm herb that dilates the bronchial vessels while stimulating the heart and central nervous system. They are also diaphoretic, diuretic, febrifuge, hypertensive, nervine, pectoral, tonic, vasoconstrictor, and vasodilator, and are used internally in the treatment of asthma, hay fever, and allergic complaints. They are also combined with other herbs for a wide range of conditions. This herb should be used with great caution, preferably under the supervision of a qualified practitioner. It should not be prescribed to patients taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors or those suffering from high blood pressure, hyperthyroidism, or glaucoma. Ephedrine is banned as a performance-boosting substance in many sporting events. Stems can be harvested at any time of year and dried for later use.

Other Uses

None known.

Ephedra fragilis, commonly named the joint pine, is a species of Ephedra from the western Mediterranean region of southern Europe (Italy, Spain, and Portugal) and Northern Africa, and from Madeira and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic. Its habitats are rocky hills and stone walls, where it grows to 2m tall.

Notes

There are about 40 Ephedra species.

More from Ephedraceae

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Ephedra antisyphilitica

California desert tea, Erect ephedra

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