Ephedra nevadensis Seeds | Nevada Ephedra

Small, light brown Nevada Ephedra seeds with a thin papery wing, on a plain background — Nevada Ephedra (*Ephedra nevadensis*): Ephedraceae, native to the dry deserts of the south-western United States.

LATIN NAME: Ephedra nevadensis

COMMON NAME: Nevada Ephedra

Plant Profile

Nevada Ephedra is a smaller, greyer shrub than Green Ephedra, usually half a metre to a metre tall, with stiff, upward-curving stems that branch from the base. The joints are long and the stems are covered in a fine bloom that gives the plant a dusty blue-green cast. Female plants carry small, red or orange fleshy cones in spring, which birds take as soon as they ripen.

It is a plant of the Mojave and the warmer parts of the Great Basin, growing in sandy washes, on desert flats and along dry drainage lines below about 1,500 metres. It tolerates more heat and more salt than Green Ephedra and is often the only shrub left on heavily grazed ground.

Science & Biotechnology

Like its northern relative, Nevada Ephedra lacks the ephedrine alkaloids that make the Asian species medicinal and hazardous. Its chemistry is dominated instead by tannins and by the flavonoids typical of the genus, and analytical surveys of North American ephedras have repeatedly found the stimulant claims attached to Mormon tea to be a confusion with imported ma huang.

Botanically the species is interesting for its drought behaviour: it keeps its stomata closed through the hottest part of the day and fixes carbon in the cooler morning, a strategy that lets it maintain stem photosynthesis on very little water. Its cones are wind-pollinated, and the fleshy fruit that follows is a reward for birds, which disperse the seed.

Uses & Benefits

The stems were brewed as a mild tea by peoples of the Mojave and the Great Basin and later by settlers, and the seeds were parched and eaten in times of scarcity. It is not a food plant and not a remedy to be used at home: its reputation as a stimulant belongs to another species, and the genus as a whole contains compounds that deserve professional handling.

For growers, the value is ornamental and ecological. It makes a sculptural, low-maintenance shrub for a dry garden, holds sand in place on a bank, and provides cover and fruit for desert wildlife.

Growing from Seed

Treat the seed like that of the other ephedras: soak it overnight, then sow shallowly in a gritty, free-draining mix and keep it at 22 to 25 °C in bright light. Germination is erratic and can be spread over two months, so sow more than you need and do not discard a tray early.

Pot the seedlings individually as soon as they are large enough, because the taproot grows fast and does not forgive disturbance. Plant out in full sun on sand or gravel, water only in the first summer, and keep the plant dry from autumn onward. It is hardy to about -15 °C if the soil drains.

Our Take

A desert shrub for the driest corner of the garden, with red cones in spring and no demands at all once its roots are down. Grow it for form and wildlife, not for the teapot.

Herb Seeds