Ephedra coryi

E. L. Reed

Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 63: 351. 1936.

Common names: Cory's ephedra
IllustratedEndemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 2.

Shrubs rhizomatous, forming clumps, erect, 0.25–1.5 m, 3–5 m diam. Bark redbrown, cracked and irregularly fissured. Branches alternate or whorled, becoming rigid, angle of divergence about 25°. Twigs bright green, becoming yellow-green with age, not viscid, ridges between longitudinal grooves papillate, slightly scabrous; internodes 2–5 cm. Terminal buds conic, 1–3 mm. Leaves opposite, 2–5 mm, connate to 1/2–3/4 their length; bases thickened, brown, persistent, becoming hard, enlarged, and black; apex acute. Pollen cones 2–several at node, obovoid, 4–6 mm, on very short, scaly peduncles (rarely sessile); bracts opposite, 5–9 pairs, light yellow, ovate, 2–4 × 2–3 mm, membranous, slightly connate at base; bracteoles slightly exceeding bracts; sporangiophores 2–4 mm, 1/4 exserted, with 5–7 sessile to short-stalked (less than 1 mm) microsporangia. Seed-cones 2–several at node, obovoid to nearly globose, 7–15 mm, on smooth peduncles, 5–25 mm, with 1 pair of basal and 1 pair of nearly terminal bracts, at least in early cones; bracts opposite, 3–4 pairs, ovate to circular, 5–8 × 5–12 mm, inner pairs becoming fleshy (at least centrally) and orange at maturity. Seeds 2, ellipsoid, 5–8 × 2–4 mm, brown to chestnut, smooth.


Phenology: Coning March–April.
Habitat: Sandy, semiarid areas
Elevation: 500–2300 m

Discussion

In New Mexico Ephedra coryi occurs only in an isolated population in the San Andreas Mountains and represents the shorter extreme (5–10 mm) in the range of peduncle length.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"/2-3/4" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.

... more about "Ephedra coryi"
Dennis Wm. Stevenson +
E. L. Reed +
fissured +
black +  and brown +
persistent +
enlarged +
orange +  and light yellow +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
ovate +  and circular +
fleshy +  and membranous +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
whorled +  and alternate +
yellowish green;olive-green +
Cory's ephedra +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
obovoid +  and nearly globose +
on short to long peduncle +, sessile +  and compound +
subtending +
N.Mex. +  and Tex. +
500–2300 m +
Sandy, semiarid areas +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
ephemeral +
connate +
photosynthetic +
scale-like +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
sessile +  and short-stalked +
single-integumented +
Coning March–April. +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
whorled +, opposite +  and overlapping +
fleshy +, papery +  and membranous +
Bull. Torrey Bot. Club +
ellipsoid;ovoid obovoid or nearly globose +
brown +  and chestnut +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
smooth to scabrous +
ellipsoid +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
Illustrated +  and Endemic +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
Ephedra coryi +
species +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
not viscid +
yellow-green +  and bright green +
300 cm3,000 mm <br />3 m <br /> (500 cm5,000 mm <br />5 m <br />) +