Ephedra distachya seed
LATIN NAME: EPHEDRA DISTACHYA
COMMON NAME: Joint Pine, Sea Grape, Mormon Tea
The joint pine is a plant that looks older than the land around it, and in a way it is, for the ephedras are one of the most ancient living groups of plants. It grows as a low, densely branching shrub of the grey dunes, reaching no more than half a metre, with a mass of slender, green, jointed stems that carry almost no leaves at all, so that the whole plant has the look of a clump of green twigs. In the warm season the plants, which are either male or female, bear small, inconspicuous, cone-like structures, and the female plants then carry small, fleshy, reddish, berry-like cones that are welcome food on the bare dunes. It grows on the fixed and stable grey dunes of southern and central Europe and of western and central Asia, and its name, sea grape, comes from those small red cones that brighten the grey sand.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The joint pine has a long and distinguished record in chemical and ecological research. The ephedras are famous for a distinctive group of alkaloid compounds, and researchers have examined the content of the plants, their chemistry and the potential uses of their compounds, while the genus has a very long history in the traditional herbal medicine of both the East and the West. That history and the chemistry behind it have drawn steady attention in the botanical and natural-product press, and the ephedras remain a subject of continuing study. It should be said plainly that the compounds of the ephedras are powerful, and the plants are best kept for study and for the dry garden rather than for the kitchen or the medicine cabinet. In ecology, the shrub has been studied as a plant of the grey dunes, with researchers examining its growth, its role in stabilising the sand and its tolerance of the dry, salty conditions, while botanists have studied its place in the ancient ephedra family and its relationships within the genus.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
To grow the Joint Pine from seed, ecologically, the joint pine is a quiet stabiliser of the grey dunes. Its dense, jointed stems help to bind the shifting sand, its small red cones feed birds and small animals, and it is a distinctive presence in the fixed dunes of Europe and Asia, holding the ground where little else will grow. Its economic value is real and historic, resting on the traditional use of the ephedras in herbal medicine, on the continuing chemical study of their compounds and on the shrub’s long use in dune stabilisation; it is also an easy and curious plant for a dry, sunny garden. To raise the joint pine, sow the small seeds in pots of gritty, free-draining compost and keep them in a sunny, sheltered place, watering lightly until the little jointed stems appear.
sow the small seeds in pots of gritty, free-draining compost, and keep the young ephedras in a sunny, sheltered place, watering lightly until the little jointed stems appear.
LATIN NAME: Ephedra distachya
COMMON NAME: Joint Pine, Sea Grape, Mormon Tea
The joint pine is a curious and ancient shrub of the dry coasts, and its green, jointed, leafless stems are a distinctive sight of the grey dunes of Europe and Asia. It grows as a low, branching shrub of the ephedra family, reaching up to fifty centimetres, with a mass of slender, green, jointed, almost leafless stems and, in the warm season, the small, inconspicuous, cone-like structures, the plants being either male or female, followed, on the female plants, by the small, fleshy, reddish, berry-like cones. It is a species of the ephedra family, growing in many parts of the world, including southern and central Europe and western and central Asia, where it lives on the fixed and stable grey dunes, and it is an ancient and distinctive shrub of the dry places.
The joint pine belongs to the ephedra family, Ephedraceae, and it is a shrub of about twenty-five to fifty centimetres in height, growing in many parts of the world, including southern and central Europe and western and central Asia. In English it is known as the joint pine or the sea grape, and it is a curious, jointed shrub of the grey dunes, while its local names in the region include the somlatha.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The joint pine has a genuine and long record in both chemical and ecological research. It has been studied in chemistry and pharmacology, since the plants of the ephedra genus contain a distinctive group of alkaloid compounds, and researchers have examined the content of the plants and the potential uses of their compounds, while the ephedra plants have a very long history of use in the traditional herbal medicine of the East and the West, and their chemistry has drawn attention in the international botanical and natural-product press as a subject of continuing research. It should be noted that the compounds of the ephedras are powerful, and the plants are best appreciated as a subject of study and of the natural history rather than as a casual home remedy. The shrub has also been studied in ecology, since it is a plant of the grey dunes, and researchers have examined its growth, its role in the stabilising of the dunes and its tolerance of the dry, sandy conditions, while the dune plants and their survival have been of continuing interest. The species has also been studied in botany, since it is a member of the ancient ephedra family, and its classification and its relationships have been examined. For a shrub of such curiosity, the joint pine has a rich and long record of research.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the joint pine is a hardy shrub of the grey dunes. Its jointed stems help to bind the shifting sand, and its fleshy cones feed the birds and the small animals, while it is a distinctive presence in the fixed dunes of Europe and Asia.
Its economic value is real and historic. The ephedras have a very long history of use in the traditional herbal medicine of the East and the West, and their chemistry has drawn attention in the international botanical and natural-product press as a subject of continuing research, while the shrubs are also valued in the stabilising of the dunes. The plants of the genus contain powerful compounds, so they are best grown as a curiosity of the dry garden and admired for their curious form. For a grower, the joint pine is an easy and hardy shrub, and for a gardener with a dry, sunny spot it brings green, jointed stems and a curious form. The seeds are simple — sow them in a pot of gritty, free-draining compost in a warm, sunny spot, keep them lightly watered, and theyll sprout slowly, growing on into a curious, jointed shrub.
The raw ephedra has strong effect on inducing sweating and dispelling exogenous evils, inducing diuresis to alleviate edema, and it mainly use to cure cold empirical syndrome, choking sensation in the chest, asthmatic cough, wind water puffy swelling, rheumatism pain, dorsal furuncle, subcutaneous nodule. Honey ephedra is warm in nature, slightly embellish, action ease on Xinsan sweating, strengthen the effect on moistening lung and stopping cough, it has very good effect on freeing lung and relieving asthma. It is mostly for the Biaozheng which has been cured, and the asthma, cough. Ephedra velvet works mild, it is suit for old people, young child and the weak people who are easy to catch wind cold.