''Ephedra intermedia'', with the Chinese common name of Zhong Ma Huang, is a species of '' Ephedra'' that is native to

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, the western

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, and

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.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>Flora of China, Vol. 4 Page 98, 中麻黄 zhong ma huang, ''Ephedra intermedia'' Schrenk ex C. A. Meyer, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint-Pétersbourg, Sér. 6, Sci. Math., Seconde Pt. Sci. Nat. Sci. Nat. 5: 278 1846
/ref>

Description

''Ephedra intermedia'' is found in

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

s, floodlands and river valleys, slopes and cliffs, and sandy beaches. It grows at elevations of , in rocky or sandy dry

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s. The plant grows to tall. The

strobili A strobilus (: strobili) is a structure present on many land plant species consisting of sporangia-bearing structures densely aggregated along a stem. Strobili are often called cones, but some botanists restrict the use of the term cone to the woo ...

are

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

, either male ''or'' female on any one plant, so both male and female plants are needed for seeds.

Taxonomy

It was originally described by Alexander Gustav von Schrenk and

Carl Anton von Meyer Carl Anton von Meyer (in Russian: Карл Анто́нович фон Ме́йер, ''Karl Antonovich von Meyer'') (1 April 1795 – 24 February 1855) was a Germans, German, Russified botanist and explorer. Meyer was born in Vitebsk. He received ...

in 1846. It was placed in

section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

''Pseudobaccatae'' (=sect. ''Ephedra sect. Ephedra''), "tribe" ''Pachycladae'' by Otto Stapf in 1889. In 1996 Robert A. Price classified ''E. intermedia'' in section ''Ephedra'' without recognizing a tribe.Price, R. A. (1996). Systematics of the Gnetales: A review of morphological and molecular evidence. ''International Journal of Plant Sciences'', 157(6): S40-S49.

References

External links

PFAF Plant Database — ''Ephedra intermedia'' (Zhong Ma Huang)

intermedia Intermedia is an art theory term coined in the mid-1960s by Fluxus artist Dick Higgins to describe the strategies of interdisciplinarity that occur within artworks existing between artistic genres. It was also used by John Brockman to refer to ...

Flora of Asia Soma (drink) Plants described in 1846 {{gymnosperm-stub