Ephedra sinica

Ephedra sinica , commonly called Chinese ephedra, is an evergreen shrub of the gymnosperm family Ephedraceae, native to China. It looks like a grass, but it is a tree. The green leaves are degenerated into small scales. The flowers are dioecious from spring to early summer. The male flowers are spherical yellow in the leaf axils or on the tops of the stems, with multiple anthers on the tips of the axils extending from the small flowers. The female flowers are green and borne singly, and in the fall after flowering, the thickened bracts become red and produce a red fruit (pseudo-fruit) enclosing a black seed. According to the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, three species are listed as the primary plant medicinal herbs: Ephedra sinica, E. intermedia, and E. equisetina. The whole plant is said to be effective as an antitussive, diaphoretic, and antifebrile. The green stems in particular are dried to make the crude drug mallow. It resembles the stem of the toxa plant. There is also :Ephedra distachya. It resembles the stem of toxa (mokuza, kenso). It is different from the one famous for shochu (*^_^*).

common name: Ephedra distachya, scientific name: Ephedra distachya L., also known as Chinese ephedra, Chinese mallow, Grass mallow, Ephedra, Hemp, Origin: China, Place of origin: Desert, Life-type: Evergreen shrub, Stem: many-branched at nodes, Height: 20-40 cm, Single-leaved, Leaf color: green, Inflorescence: sporophylls: pinnate, male flowers: 2-4 lobed, dioecious.
Male flowers: 2-4 lobed; color of male flowers yellow; stamens: 7-8; female flowers: unisexual, Female flowers: solitary; female flowers globose; female flowers green; flowering season: May-June; fruit color: red; seed maturity: August-September.

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