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Pakistan | Family List | Pakistan V. 186

Ephedraceae Dumortier, Fl. Pak. 27-34. 1987.

Dioecious shrubs. Wood without resin ducts. Leaves opposite, reduced. Male flowers in ± ovoid spikes with usually 2 connate bracts and 1‑3 sporangia. Female flowers 2, enclosed by a membranous 2‑partite or‑fid sheath, surrounded at base by numerous imbricate bracts. Fruit usually red, berry‑like. Seeds 2.

1 genus and 42 species distributed in warm temperate America, Asia and Europe. Represented in Pakistan by c. 9 species.

For proper identification of Ephedra, fruiting and flowering material is essential. Many sterile specimens of various taxa look alike. More collecting and study is desirable; the following account is provisional. A few species are the source of the important drug ephedrine.

Lower Taxon


 

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