Mormon Tea
Ephedra viridis Cov.Also called green ephedra, mountain ephedra, and jointfir, Mormon tea is one of those plants that looks simple until you take a close look. From a distance it is a green, broom-like shrub standing on a dry slope. Up close, it is a network of smooth, jointed stems doing the work leaves normally do.
The true leaves are reduced to tiny scales at the joints. The green stems gather sunlight and carry on through heat, wind, cold, and long dry spells. Mormon tea is evergreen, usually about two to four feet tall, though it can grow larger in a favorable place.
Male and female cones grow on separate plants. In spring, the male plant carries small yellow pollen cones. Female plants produce green seed cones that mature to brown. Mountain quail eat the seeds, and deer and other browsing animals may feed on the shrub.
Mormon tea grows on rocky or sandy slopes and plains, often in Joshua tree woodland, pinyon-juniper woodland, sagebrush country, and higher desert scrub. Its usual range is roughly 3,000 to 7,000 feet in the western United States.
Traditional records describe teas and poultices made from this and related ephedra plants by Native peoples for several purposes, including cold and throat symptoms, pain, and wounds. Those records belong to a long history of practical knowledge and should be reported with respect.
But there is a plain caution to add. Do not treat Mormon tea as a harmless home remedy, and do not use ephedra products for stimulation, weight loss, or self-treatment. Dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids are illegal in the United States because of serious health risks, including heart attack, stroke, and death. Traditional use is history; it is not a prescription.
Mormon tea