Ephedra distachya
{{Short description|Species of seed-bearing shrub}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Ephedra distachya (with cones) 2011 1.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Ephedra
| species = distachya
| authority = L.{{GRIN | accessdate=2008-04-18}}
| synonyms = *Chaetocladus distachys (L.) J.Nelson
- Ephedra monostachya L.
- Ephedra polygonoides Pall. 1815 not Siev. 1796
- Ephedra vulgaris Rich., illegitimate name
- Ephedra minor Host
- Ephedra botryoides Fisch.
- Ephedra media C.A.Mey.
- Ephedra subtristachya C.A.Mey.
- Ephedra arborea Lag. ex Bertol.
- Ephedra clusii Dufour
- Ephedra macrocephala Bertol.
- Ephedra maritima St.-Lag.
- Ephedra dubia Regel
- Ephedra podostylax Boiss.
- Ephedra linnaei Stapf ex Koehne
- Ephedra helvetica C.A.Mey.
- Ephedra rigida St.-Lag.
- Ephedra negrii Nouviant
}}
Ephedra distachya is a shrub in the family Ephedraceae that stands about 25 cm to 50 cm high. The shrub grows in many parts of the world, including southern and central Europe and western and central Asia.[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=332906 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families][http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/index1.php?scientific-name=ephedra+distachya Altervista Flora Italiana, Efedra distachia, Ephedra distachya L. ] Its local names include somlatha.{{clarify|date=November 2022}}{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} Ephedra distachya lives on grey dunes which are fixed and stable sand dunes that are covered in continuous vegetation.
Subspecies
- Ephedra distachya subsp. distachya – central + southern Europe, southwestern + central Asia
- Ephedra distachya subsp. helvetica (C.A.Mey.) Asch. & Graebn. – Switzerland, France, Italy, Slovenia, Austria
History
Ephedra is part of a group of plants called ‘gnetophytes’. These plants have hardly changed in the past 100 million years, and are thought to be relics of an ancient flora. The leaves of Ephedra are tiny and scale-like. Gnetophyte leaves evolved independently from leaves in flowering plants. Ephedra produces the alkaloid ephedrine, which has been shown to interfere with insect thermoregulation and may also have effects on insect neurotransmitters. This may be the method by which the plant deters insect herbivores.{{Cite web |title=Sea Grape (Ephedra distachya) |url=https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/learning/trails/medicines/sea-grape-ephedra-distachya/ |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=Cambridge Botanic Garden |language=en-US}}
Uses
{{Main|Ephedra (medicine)}}
Ephedra distachya is used to relieve acute muscular and rheumatic pains (when it is called teamsters' tea), as a stimulant, and in the cardio tonics in Ayurveda.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} It is sometimes identified with the legendary drug soma, as described in the Avesta and the Rig Veda, the respective ancient sacred texts of the Zoroastrian and Hindu faiths.
Ephedrine, an alkaloid, is obtained from its dried branches and is used as a stimulant, often to control asthma. It was isolated from the plant by Nagayoshi Nagai in 1885. All parts of the plant contain up to 3% ephedrine.
{{cite web
|url=http://www.giftpflanzen.com/ephedra_distachya.html
|title=Meerträubel (Ephedra distachya) im GIFTPFLANZEN.COMpendium - www.giftpflanzen.com
|publisher=www.giftpflanzen.com
|accessdate=2008-04-18
|last=
|first=
}}
Side effects
Gallery
Image:Illustration Ephedra distachya0.jpg|Botanical illustration.
Image:Ephedra distachya (male plant in bloom).jpg|Male plant in bloom.
Image:Ephedra distachya (male flowers) 2.jpg|Pollen cones.
Image:Ephedra distachya (female flowers).jpg|Female cones.
Image:Ephedra distachya (cones) 2011 3.jpg|Ripe cones with seeds.
Image:Ephedra distachya berries 2.jpg|Female plant with ripe cones.
Image:Ephedra distachya (rhizome) 2011 1.jpg|Rhizome and bark.
References
{{Reflist|25em}}
Schneider-Binder, & Kuhlke, F. (2015). HABITATS WITH SEA GRAPE (EPHEDRA DISTACHYA) ON THE DUNES OF LETEA (DANUBE DELTA, ROMANIA)/Lebensräume mit Meerträubchen (Ephedra distachya) auf den Dünen von Letea (Donau-Delta, Rumänien)/Habitatele cu Ephedra distachya de pe dunele de la Letea (Delta Dunarii, România). Transylvanian Review of Systematical and Ecological Research, 17(2), 45–. https://doi.org/10.1515/trser-2015-0062
External links
{{Commons}}
- [http://www.conifers.org/ep/Ephedra_distachya.php Gymnosperm Database: Ephedra distachya]. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
{{Taxonbar|from=Q162784}}
Category:Flora of Central Asia
Category:Flora of Western Asia
Category:Medicinal plants of Asia
Category:Medicinal plants of Europe
Category:Plants described in 1753