California jointfir facts for kids
Quick facts for kids California jointfir |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Ephedra
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| Species: |
californica
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Ephedra californica is a cool plant often called California jointfir or Mormon tea. It's a type of Ephedra plant. You can find it growing in sunny, dry places in parts of California, Baja California, and Arizona.
Where This Plant Grows
The California jointfir loves dry, open spaces. It grows in many different areas across central and southern California, Baja California, and western Arizona. You can spot it in various habitats. These include scrublands, dry grasslands, and areas with Creosote bush. It grows from about 150 feet (45 meters) to 3,400 feet (1,036 meters) high.
You can find this plant in many regions, like:
- The Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert
- The Colorado Desert
- Mountain ranges like the Peninsular Ranges and Transverse Ranges
- The Tehachapi Mountains and southern Sierra Nevada foothills
- The San Joaquin Valley
- Parts of the California Coast Ranges
- The Channel Islands
- Coastal areas in Southern California
It thrives in habitats such as:
- California chaparral and woodlands
- Coastal and mountain chaparral areas
What It Looks Like
Ephedra californica is a thin, twiggy shrub. Its new twigs are green. As they get older, they turn a yellowish-gray color. The twigs have fine lines running along them. The bark on older parts becomes gray-brown. It often has cracks and fissures. This plant usually grows about 1 to 3 feet (0.25 to 1 meter) tall. It can spread out just as wide.
Tiny leaves grow at points called nodes on the twigs. During dry times, these leaves dry up and crumble away. They leave behind small brownish ridges. Male plants produce small clusters of pollen cones. Female plants grow egg-shaped seed cones. Each seed cone is about 1 centimeter (0.4 inches) long. You can usually see these cones from May to June.
How Native Americans Used It
Long ago, the indigenous peoples of California used Ephedra californica in many ways. They used it as a medicinal plant, for cooking, and to make tools. Tribes like the Kumeyaay and Kawaiisu in what is now Southern California used this plant.
They often brewed the branches of the Ephedra californica to make a tea. This tea was used for its traditional health benefits. For example, the Kumeyaay used the tea as a traditional remedy.
