Family · Gymnosperms

Ephedraceae

Ephedra / Mormon tea

Jointed, broom-like desert shrubs with scale leaves; source of the alkaloid ephedrine and long used medicinally as ma huang.

Accepted species

75accepted names · Kew WCVP

Genus

1accepted genus · Kew WCVP

Origin

≈14 MaNeogene · crown age, Jin & Qian 2022 megatree

Centre of diversity

Asia-Temperatemost native species · WGSRPD

Open Ephedraceae in the treePan, zoom and dig into its genera in the interactive view.›

Plants you might know

• Ephedra

Its genus

• Ephedra75 spp.

Where it grows

• Asia-Temperate41
• Northern America14
• Southern America12
• Asia-Tropical12
• Africa9
• Europe7

Native species richness by botanical continent (WGSRPD level 1), from Kew WCVP.

Related families

Ephedraceae sits in the order Ephedrales.