What is Ephedra?
{{italic title}} {{Automatic taxobox | oldest_fossil = Aptian | image = Green ephedra Ephedra viridis close.jpg | image_caption = ''[[Ephedra viridis]]'' | taxon = Ephedra | authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]<ref name=Kramer>{{cite book|title=The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, Vol. 1: Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms|year=1990|publisher=Springer-Verlag|location=Berlin|isbn=3540517944|pages=379–381| vauthors = Kramer KU, Green PS, Götz E | veditors = Kramer KU, Green PS }}</ref> | type_species = ''[[Ephedra distachya]]'' | type_species_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]] | synonyms_ref = <ref name=liz10/> | synonyms = * ''Alloephedra'' <small>Tao JR et Yang Y., 2003.</small> * ''Chaetocladus'' <small>Nelson 1866 nom. illeg.</small> * ''Liaoxia'' <small>Cao et S.Q. Wu, 1996</small> | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = | range_map = Ephedra distribution.PNG | range_map_alt = Map showing the range of ''Ephedra'' | range_map_caption = Global range of ''Ephedra'' }} '''''Ephedra''''' is a group of [[plants]]. It is the only one in its [[Family (biology)|family]], '''Ephedraceae'''. ''Ephedra'' species are found naturally in many places, like southwestern [[North America]], southern [[Europe]], northern [[Africa]], southwest and central [[Asia]], northern China and western [[South America]].<ref name=liz10>[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=332845 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> ''Ephedra'' species often grow in the [[temperate zone]]. They often grow on [[shore]]s or sandy places where they get a lot of [[sunlight]]. In English, they are often called '''joint-pine''', '''jointfir''', '''Mormon-tea'''. In [[Chinese language|Chinese]], it is called ''mahuang'' ({{zh|s=麻黄|t=麻黃|p=máhuáng|w=ma-huang|l=hemp yellow}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/Botanic/Plant.aspx?p=27&ix=64&pid=0&prcid=0&ppid=0|title=Ephedra|publisher=Cambridge University Botanic Garden|access-date=27 May 2018}}</ref>