''Ephedra pedunculata'', common name vine Mormon tea or Comida de Vívora, is a plant species native to southern

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

as far south as

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

. It grows in sandy or rocky slopes and outcrops. Most species of ''Ephedra'' (called "

Mormon tea ''Ephedra nevadensis'', commonly known as Nevada ephedra, gray ephedra, Mormon tea and Nevada jointfir, is a species of gymnosperm native to dry areas of western North America. Its range extends west to California, east to Colorado, north to O ...

") are shrubs, but ''Ephedra pedunculata'' is a trailing or clambering woody vine up to long. Bark is gray, becoming cracked with age. Leaves are opposite, up to long.

Microsporangia A microsporangium () is a sporangium that produces microspores that give rise to male gametophytes when they germinate. Microsporangia occur in all vascular plants that have heterosporic life cycles, such as seed plants, spike mosses and the a ...

l (pollen-producing cones) are 1–2 mm long, compared to less than 1 mm in many other species. Seed cones are long, each containing 2 ellipsoid seeds long. This plant is also rich in

flavonoids Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

, which is used in a variety of nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications.

References

pedunculata Plants described in 1883 Flora of Texas Flora of Mexico {{gymnosperm-stub