Ephedra ciliata

Fisch. & C.A.Mey. (Meyer 1845)

Common names

Taxonomic notes

Synonymy: see POWO for the full list of synonyms. One name, Ephedra foliata, is still in widespread use, but E. ciliata was technically published one year earlier and thus has priority. I say "technically" because the cited publication actually came out in early 1847, but is stated to be an excerpt from a publication by Meyer that appeared in October 1845. I presume Meyer's original work is lost. Also, see the Taxonomic notes for E. laristanica, which is likely also synonymous with E. foliata.

Description

"Scandent or trailing plant. Branches slender. Leaves 2-4 at the upper nodes, 0.8-3.0 × 0.1 cm, linear. Male strobili solitary or 2-3 per node; flowers 4-6 pairs, bracteate; bracts connate, obtuse; anthers 3-4, sessile. Female strobili pedunculate, ovoid, 2-3-flowered. Tubillus c. 1.5 mm long, straight. Berry globose, white. Seeds 2, brownish-black." Flowers from February to March (Ali and Qaiser 1987). See also the description in Bobrov (1968).

See Ephedra aphylla for a key to the four Ephedra species of the Sinai.

Distribution and Ecology

Central Asia, including Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan; fairly common throughout at elevations of 700-2300 m (Ali and Qaiser 1987).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.03.03.

Ethnobotany

Observations

See the observations on iNaturalist, accessed 2021.12.30.

Remarks

Citations

Ali, S.I. and M. Qaiser (eds.). 1987. Flora of Pakistan. http://www.efloras.org.

Bobrov, E. G. 1968. Ephedraceae, pp. 154-160 in V.L. Komarov (ed.), Flora of the USSR, Vol. 1, trans. by the Israel Program for Scientific Translations. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution and National Science Foundation. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2021.12.30.

Meyer, C. A. 1847. Versuch Einer Monographie de Gattung Ephedra, durch Abbildungen Erlautert. Bulletin de la Classe Physico-Mathematique de l'Academie Imperiale des Sciences de Saint-Pétersbourg. St. Petersburg 5:36. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2025.01.15.

See also

Species profile at Plants of the World Online, accessed 2021.12.30 (as E. ciliata).

Meyer, C. A. 1846. Versuch einer Monographie der Gattung Ephedra, Durch Abbildungen Erlautert. Mémoires de l'Académie impériale des sciences de St.-Pétersbourg, Sér. 6, Sci. Math., Seconde Pt. Sci. Nat. 5:107. Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2021.12.26. This is the 1846 publication of E. foliata.