Common Names
Clap-weed, popote, tepopote (1).Taxonomic notes
Syn: Ephedra antisyphilitica var. brachycarpa Cory; E. occidentalis Torrey ex Parlatore; E. texana Reed (1).Description
"Shrubs erect or spreading, 0.25-1 m. Bark gray, slightly cracked and irregularly fissured. Branches alternate or whorled, rigid, angle of divergence about 45°. Twigs green, becoming yellow-green with age, glaucous, not viscid, with numerous longitudinal grooves; internodes 2-5 cm. Terminal buds conic, 1-3 mm, apex obtuse. Leaves opposite, 1-3 mm, connate to 2/3-7/8 their length; bases thickened, brown, completely deciduous; apex obtuse. Pollen cones 1-2 at node, lance-ellipsoid, 5-8 mm, sessile to nearly sessile; bracts opposite, 5-8 pairs, pale green to red, obovate, 2-4 × 2-3 mm, membranous, connate at base; bracteoles slightly exceeding bracts; sporangiophores 4-5 mm, 1/2 exserted, with 4-6 sessile to very short-stalked (less than 1 mm) microsporangia. Seed cones 1-2 at node, ellipsoid, 6-12 mm, sessile to nearly sessile; bracts opposite, 4-6 pairs, ovate, 5-7 × 5-10 mm, connate to 1/8-7/8 their length, inner pairs becoming fleshy and red. Seeds 1(-2), ellipsoid, 6-9 × 2-4 mm, light brown to chestnut, smooth. ... Coning March-April" (1).Range
US: Oklahoma and Texas; Mexico: Nuevo León and San Luis Potosí; at 100-1200 m on dry soils and rocky slopes. "Mexican populations ... are disjunct from those in Texas." (1).Big Tree
Oldest
Dendrochronology
Ethnobotany
Observations
Remarks
Citations
(1) Dennis W. Stevenson at the Flora of North America online.[Ephedra] [Ephedraceae] [home]
This page is from the Gymnosperm Database
URL: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/2285/ep/ep/antisyphilitica.htm
Edited by Christopher J. Earle
E-mail:earlecj@earthlink.com
Last modified on 6-Jan-1999