Ephedra fragilis

Ephedra fragilis, commonly named the joint pine, is a species of Ephedra that is native to eastern Mediterranean region of southern Europe and Northern Africa, and from Madeira and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic.[1][2][3]

Ephedra fragilis
Ephedra fragilis Algeciras, Spain
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Gnetophyta
Class: Gnetopsida
Order: Ephedrales
Family: Ephedraceae
Genus: Ephedra
Species:
E. fragilis
Binomial name
Ephedra fragilis
Desf.
Synonyms[1]
  • Ephedra dissoluta Webb & Berthel.
  • Ephedra fragilis subsp. dissoluta (Webb & Berthel.) Trab
  • Ephedra fragilis subsp. desfontainii Asch. & Graebn
  • Ephedra gibraltarica Boiss.
  • Ephedra wettsteinii Buxb.
  • Ephedra altissima Buch 1828, illegitimate homonym, not Desf. 1799 nor Delile 1813 nor Bové 1834

Its habitats are rocky hills and stone walls, where it grows to 6 feet (1.8 m) tall.[4]

Taxonomy

The plant was originally described by René Louiche Desfontaines in 1799 and placed in section Pseudobaccatae (=sect. Ephedra sect. Ephedra), "tribe" Scandentes by Otto Stapf in 1889.

In 1996 Robert A. Price classified E. fragilis in section Ephedra without recognizing a tribe.[5]

Subspecies
  1. Ephedra fragilis subsp. cossonii (Stapf) Maire - Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara
  2. Ephedra fragilis subsp. fragilis - Spain, Portugal, Balearic Islands, Sicily, Calabria, Morocco, Western Sahara, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Madeira, Canary Islands

Conservation

Ephedra fragilis is a Least Concern species on the IUCN Red List.[6]

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References
  1. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. Dobignard, A. & Chatelain, C. (2011). Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 3: 1-449. Éditions des conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève.
  3. Altervista Flora Italiana, Efedra fragile, Ephedra fragilis Desf.
  4. PFAF Plant Database — Ephedra fragilis . accessed 1.10.2013
  5. Price, R. A. (1996). Systematics of the Gnetales: A review of morphological and molecular evidence. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 157(6): S40-S49.
  6. IUCN Red List: Ephedra fragilis (joint pine) . accessed 1.10.2013


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