Ephedra trifurca
Torr. ex S. Watson
Longleaf jointfir
(c) Chuck Sexton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Chuck Sexton
(c) Curren Frasch, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit, Seeds
A tea can be made from the branches. The fruit is also edible raw or cooked.
Where to Find It
It is a subtropical or warm temperate plant. It grows in arid places.
Mexico, North America, USA,
How to Identify
Ephedra trifurca is an evergreen shrub growing to 2 m with year-round foliage and flowers from March to May. The species is dioecious, requiring both male and female plants for seed production, and lacks self-fertility. It prefers well-drained light sandy or medium loamy soils with mildly acid to basic pH. The plant needs full sun and tolerates drought as well as variable soil moisture conditions.
How to Grow
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it could succeed outdoors at least in the milder parts of this country. It hybridises in the wild with other members of the genus. In particular, it hybridises with E. torreyana to form E . × intermixta. This hybrid occurs in a small area of southwestern New Mexico (near Engle, Sierra County) within the zone of sympatry of the two parental species; it may be fertile (mature seeds are formed). It is intermediate in most characters but can be identified by its combination of the spinelike terminal buds of E . trifurca and the scabrous, light yellow seeds of E . torreyana.The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. Requires a well-drained loamy soil and a sunny position. Established plants are drought resistant and are also lime tolerant. Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown in fruit and seed are required.
Propagation: Seed is best sown 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 in their first winter. Can also be propagated by division in spring or autumn, or by layering.
Medicinal Uses
The dried and crushed stems are diuretic. An infusion has been used to treat venereal disease, stomach complaints, and kidney problems. The pulverized or boiled stems were applied externally as a poultice on syphilitic sores by some native North American Indians, and can also be used as a poultice on other skin sores. Unlike many members of the genus, this species is not rich in the alkaloid ephedrine and is therefore not used in the treatment of asthma.
Other Uses
None known.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Ephedra trifurca is a species of Ephedra known by the common names longleaf jointfir and Mexican tea. It is native to the states of Baja California, Chihuahua and Sonora in northwestern Mexico, and to California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas in the Southwestern United States. It is found in desert scrub plant communities, in the Chihuahuan Desert, Sonoran Desert, and Colorado Desert.
Notes
There are about 40 Ephedra species.
References (6)
- Felger, R. S. 1980, Vegetation and Flora of the Gran Desierti, Sonora, Mexico. Desert Plants 2(2). Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. p 9
- https://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/category/edible-plants/ Edible Plants – Southeastern Arizona Wildflowers and Plants
- Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 337
- Kiple, K.F. & Ornelas, K.C., (eds), 2000, The Cambridge World History of Food. CUP p 1816
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
- S. Watson et al., Botany [fortieth parallel] 329, in adnot. 1871 (in C. King, U.S. geol. explor. 40th Parallel vol. 5)
