Ephedra nebrodensis Seeds | Sicilian Joint Pine

Small, dark brown Sicilian Joint Pine seeds held in papery cone scales, on a plain background — Sicilian Joint Pine (*Ephedra nebrodensis*): Ephedraceae, a relict mountain shrub of Sicily and southern Italy.

LATIN NAME: Ephedra nebrodensis

COMMON NAME: Sicilian Joint Pine

Plant Profile

Sicilian Joint Pine is a low, dense, slow-growing shrub, usually 30 to 80 cm tall, with stiff, wiry, grey-green stems that form a compact dome. It is the smallest of the Mediterranean ephedras, and its cones are small and red-brown, carried close to the stems on female plants.

It is named for the Nebrodi mountains of northern Sicily and occurs in a handful of mountain sites on the island and in southern Italy, always on dry, stony ground above the coastal scrub. Its scattered populations are treated as relict stands of a wider range that shrank as the Mediterranean climate dried. It rarely exceeds knee height, and old specimens become gnarled and woody at the base.

Science & Biotechnology

The plant’s taxonomic position has been debated: some authors treat it as a subspecies of Ephedra major, others as a species in its own right, and molecular studies have not entirely settled the question. Its low, cushion habit and its isolated mountain sites suggest adaptation to exposure and grazing rather than a recent origin.

As a member of the gnetophytes, it shares the genus’s unusual combination of vessel-bearing wood and gymnosperm reproduction, and its slow growth in a dry climate makes it useful in studies of age structure in relict shrub populations. Like its relatives, it carries alkaloids and should be handled with care. The cone scales are papery and translucent, and the seed is released in late summer when they open.

Uses & Benefits

Sicilian Joint Pine is grown by collectors as a living representative of one of the oldest seed-plant lineages, and as a rock-garden shrub for hot, dry, stony ground. Its tight, wiry dome is unlike anything else in a Mediterranean planting, and it holds its shape through the year.

In its native mountains it is a minor component of the scrub that stabilises steep, eroding slopes. It has no culinary use, and its alkaloid content rules out any home medicinal preparation. It is also a good subject for a trough or a crevice in a dry-stone wall, where its slow growth is an advantage.

Growing from Seed

Sow in spring in a gritty, lime-rich mix, barely covering the seed, and keep it at 18 to 22 °C. Germination is slow and irregular; fresh seed gives the best results, and older seed may need a month of cold before it will start.

Plant out into a raised bed, a scree or a crevice with sharp drainage and full sun. Water in the first season only; after that, rain is enough. The plant is slow, adding only a few centimetres a year, so raise more than you need and expect to wait for a specimen. In a pot, use a gritty compost and water sparingly, since the roots rot in winter wet.

Our Take

A collector’s ephedra: small, slow and tough, with a shape that belongs on a scree. Worth growing for the strangeness of it, and for the patience it teaches.

Herb Seeds