Ephedra californica
Encyclopedia
Ephedra californica is a species of Ephedra
Ephedra
Ephedra refers to the plant Ephedra sinica. E. sinica, known in Chinese as ma huang , has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for 5,000 years for the treatment of asthma and hay fever, as well as for the common cold...

known by the common names California jointfir, California ephedra, desert tea, and cañatillo. It is native to southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, and Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...

, where it grows in varied scrub and open habitats, including chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...

 and grassland. This is a spindly shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

made up of twigs which are greenish when new and age to a yellowish-gray color and have fine longitudinal grooves on their surfaces. It may exceed a meter in height. The tiny leaves grow at nodes on the twigs and dry and crumble away to leave brownish ridges there. Male plants produce clumps of pollen cones at the nodes and female plants produce egg-shaped seed cones each about a centimeter long.

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