Ephedra distachya Seeds | Joint Pine
LATIN NAME: Ephedra distachya
COMMON NAME: Joint Pine, Sea Grape, Mormon Tea
Plant Profile
Ephedra distachya, commonly known as Joint Pine, is a shrub. Joint pine is a plant that looks older than land around it, and in a way it is, for ephedras are one of the most ancient living groups of plants. It grows on 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 grey sand. Each of these traits is modest on its own; together they make a garden-worthy plant.
Science & Biotechnology
The species features in the wider study of the Ephedra group, and its traits make it a useful subject for work on germination biology, cultivation and ornamental selection. Joint pine has a genuine and long record in both chemical and ecological research. For practical purposes the message is encouraging: generations of cultivation have produced plants of predictable, well-mannered garden character.
Uses & Benefits
Gardeners value Joint Pine for its ornamental character, and the plant also fits naturally into herb, vegetable and cutting gardens. Ecologically, joint pine is a hardy shrub of grey dunes. Its jointed stems help to bind shifting sand, and its fleshy cones feed birds and small animals, while it is a distinctive presence in fixed dunes of Europe and Asia. Its economic value is real and historic. A plant that has settled in will get along with only routine care.
Joint pine is the Mediterranean and Eurasian ephedra, a source of the genus’s characteristic alkaloids in European herbal tradition, and a rugged, salt-tolerant curiosity for dry gardens.
Growing from Seed
Raising Joint Pine from seed is straightforward. Scatter the seed evenly over a loose seed compost, cover to no more than its own depth, and keep the pot moist and bright. Shift the seedlings into small pots as soon as they can be handled, and give them bright light until planting-out time.
Our Take
It forms a shrub, which makes spacing and siting straightforward. Young plants want steady water; older plants take conditions as they come.
Related Reading
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