Ephedra distachya

Flower name
Ephedra distachya
Scientific name
Ephedra distachya
Aliasエフェドラ, 二又麻黄, Ephedra, distachya
Place of originEurope and Asia
Place of floweringSpecific area
Flowering seasonMay, June

What is Ephedra distachya

Ephedra distachya (Ephedra distachya) is a gymnosperm of the evergreen shrub of the family Ephedraceae, native to Europe and Asia. It is a bifurcated stem of Ephedra sinica. The tree looks like a grass, but is about 50 cm tall. The green leaves have degenerated into small scales. The flowers are dioecious. In spring to early summer, the male flowers produce small, spherical, yellow-green flowers in the leaf axils or at the top of the stem, and the anthers grow up from the flowers to form multiple anthers at the tip. The female flowers are green and produce a red seed-bearing fruit (false fruit) in the fall after flowering. Known as a medicinal herb, the whole plant is said to be effective in antitussis, perspiration and fever reduction. The green stalks in particular are dried to make the fresh herb mallow. It is similar to the stems of Equisetum hyemale.

Common Name: Ephedra distachya, Scientific Name: Ephedra distachya, Origin: Europe-Asia, Growing place: desert, Living type: evergreen shrub, Stem: branched with many branches at the nodes, Tree Height 25-50 cm, unifoliate, leaf color: green, leaf: degenerate and scale-like, inflorescence: opposite, dioecious, inflorescence form: scattered inflorescence, sporophyte (flower): pine ball-shaped, male flowers: 2-4 lobes, male flower color: yellow, female flower color: green, flowering season: May-June, fruiting season: August-September, fruit color: red, use: medicinal plant.