Carried by 3 nurseries
View Availability at NurseryData provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria
View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora
Ephedra viridis is a species of Ephedra known by the common names green ephedra and green Mormon tea. It is native to the western United States, where it is a member of varied scrub, woodland, and open habitats. This shrub is made up of many erect bright green twigs. They may yellow somewhat with age. Nodes along the twigs are marked by the tiny brown ridges which are the plant's leaves. Male plants produce pollen cones at the nodes, each under a centimeter long with protruding yellowish sporangiophores. Female plants produce seed cones which are slightly larger and contain two seeds each.
Shrub
3 - 5 ft Tall
Upright
Slow
Yellow
Spring
Full Sun, Partial Shade
Low, Very Low
Moderate
Prefers sandy or loamy soils. Does not grow well in clay soils.
For propagating by seed: 1 mo. stratification. No treatment. gives nearly as good results (Stidham et al. 1980).
1, 2*, 3*, 7*, 8*, 9*, 10*, 11*, 12*, 13, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*
scrub, woodland, open areas
Creosote Bush Scrub, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland
Butterflies and moths supported
0 confirmed and 1 likely
Bilobed Looper Moth
Megalographa biloba