Taxon

Ephedra equisetina

 
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Ephedra equisetina - bluestem joint fir, bluestem ephedra, ma huang
Image: Cristina Salvador
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Common name: bluestem joint fir, bluestem ephedra, ma huang
Family: Ephedraceae (Ephedra)
Distribution: Asia
Habitat: Montane
Hardiness: USDA Zone 4 (-30 to -20 °F)
Life form: Evergreen shrub/sub-shrub
Occurrence in New Mexico: Exotic
Growing Conditions: The native habitat of bluestem joint fir is dry, rocky mountain steppes in Asia. Its range extends from Georgia and Dagestan, Russia, in the Caucasus, east through central Asia, and Mongolia, to Northwestern China, and Western Siberia. It prefers full sun but will grow in partial sun. It grows in moderate to xeric clay, loam or sandy soil. It does not perform well in wet, poorly drained soils. It is extremely heat and drought tolerant. Plants are dioecious, and spread readily by sprouts from rhizomes. It may be a vigorous invader in sandy soils, requiring suckers to be pulled up to contain the plants. Periodic severe pruning will keep it smaller and neater. This dense shrub is well suited for massing in bare areas.
Description: Thick, well-developed woody stems grow from rhizomes to 6-8 feet wide and 3-4 (sometimes 5) feet in height. The stems are densely branched with finely textured, jointed, blue-green herbaceous branchlets covered with a powdery bloom. The deciduous leaves are tiny and paired along the stems. It produces male and female cones in spring. Male pollen cones are single or in clusters of 3-4 at the stem nodes. The oval female seed cones are usually paired at the stem nodes and give rise to fleshy red berries. The plants are usually dioecious (having separate male and female plants).
Links: SFBG Plant of the Month • Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN-Taxonomy)

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