Ephedra sinica

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Range Description:

Distributed across southern Siberia (Russian Federation), Mongolia and China. Recorded from 400 m up to 1,600 m.

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Rights holder/AuthorInternational Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Sourcehttp://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/201702

Distribution:

Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi [Mongolia]

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Rights holder/AuthoreFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden
Sourcehttp://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200005521

Description:

Subshrubs small, to 40 cm, sparsely branched; woody stems short or prostrate; branchlets straight or curved, sometimes slightly involute, internodes (2.5-)3-4(-5.5) cm × ca. 2 mm, shallowly furrowed. Leaves opposite, connate for 1/3-2/3 their length, free part subulate to narrowly triangular, to 5 mm, apex sharply pointed. Pollen cones sessile or pedunculate, solitary or in clusters at nodes, rarely terminal; bracts in 4 pairs, margin very narrow, membranous, apex obtuse or subacute; anthers 7 or 8, sessile or shortly stipitate. Seed cones terminal or axillary, solitary, oblong-ovoid or subglobose, ca. 8 × 6-7 mm at maturity; bracts in 4 pairs, connate for 1/2-3/4 their length, red and fleshy at maturity; integument tube 1-2 mm, straight or slightly curved. Seeds usually 2, black-red or grayish brown, concealed by or equaling bracts. Pollination May-Jun, seed maturity Aug-Sep. 2n = 28*.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthoreFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden
Sourcehttp://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200005521

Synonym:

Ephedra ma-huang Liu.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthoreFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden
Sourcehttp://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200005521

Habitat and Ecology:

Habitat and Ecology

A shrub, found in arid areas and highlands, occurring on slopes, dry river beds, sandy places, or fields on mountain sides. In the Russian Federation it is found in Stipa steppe habitat and occasionally in birch forests. Flowering is from April to June, and fruiting is from July.

Systems

  • Terrestrial
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorInternational Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Sourcehttp://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/201702

Habitat:

Waste and sandy places, plains, mountain slopes; 700-1600 m.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthoreFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden
Sourcehttp://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200005521

IUCN Red List Assessment:
Red List Category

LC
Least Concern

Red List Criteria

Version

3.1

Year Assessed

2011

Assessor/s

Bell, A. & Bachman, S.

Reviewer/s

Hilton-Taylor, C. & Lutz, M.L.

Contributor/s

Justification

E. sinica (Ma Huang) occurs over a large area in Central Asia and is listed as Least Concern. It has been extensively utilized in Chinese herbal medicine for many hundreds of years. Although widely cultivated, the status of wild populations needs to be monitored to understand whether harvesting is a significant threat.
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorInternational Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Sourcehttp://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/201702

Population:

Population

The population size is not known, but it is recorded as dominant in some areas. Reported as occasional in Chita and rare in Buryatia, Russian Federation (Peschkova 2005).

Population Trend

Stable
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorInternational Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Sourcehttp://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/201702

Threats:

Major Threats

Widely used in Chinese herbal medicine, known as Ma Huang. Ma huang is cultivated in China, but wild populations may also be harvested.
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorInternational Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Sourcehttp://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/201702

Conservation Actions:

Conservation Actions

Known to occur in numerous botanic gardens, although no seed is known to have been collected for ex situ conservation purposes. Its wide range intersects numerous protected areas.
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorInternational Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Sourcehttp://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/201702
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith