Ephedra altissima

Ephedra altissima
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Gnetophyta
Class: Gnetopsida
Order: Ephedrales
Family: Ephedraceae
Genus: Ephedra
Species: E. altissima
Binomial name
Ephedra altissima
Desf.
Synonyms[1]

Chaetocladus altissima (Desf.) J.Nelson

Ephedra altissima is a species of Ephedra that is native to the western Sahara (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Chad, Mauritania), and also to the Canary Islands.[1][2][3]

The species is cultivated as an ornamental plant.

Taxonomy

It was originally described by René Louiche Desfontaines in 1799 and placed in section Pseudobaccatae (=sect. Ephedra), "tribe" Scandentes.

In 1996 Robert A. Price classified E. altissima in section Ephedra without recognizing a tribe.[4]

Varieties
  1. Ephedra altissima var. altissima - Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Canary Islands
  2. Ephedra altissima var. tibestica Maire - Tibesti Mountains of northern Chad

References

  1. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. Barry, J. P. & Celles, J.S. (1991). Flore de Mauritanie 2: 360-550. Centre Regional de Documentation Pedagogique, Nice.
  3. Dobignard, A. & Chatelain, C. (2011). Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 3: 1-449. Éditions des conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève.
  4. Price, R. A. (1996). Systematics of the Gnetales: A review of morphological and molecular evidence. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 157(6): S40-S49.
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