Ephedra boelckei

F.A. Roig 1984

Common names

Parron, pichana de torro (Saenz 1994).

Taxonomic notes

Assigned to Section Alatae.

Description

Dioecious shrubs with 3-5 trunks, or a short tree up to 5 m tall with a single trunk (one of the few species of Ephedra that can grow as a tree). Old stems have fibrous bark shedding in longitudinal strips. Leaves binate or ternate, fused up to 1/2 - 1/3 of their length, attenuate towards the apex, coriaceous with a hyaline margin. Pollen cones globose, two per node, bracts oval or orbiculate, anthers pedicellate. Seed cones globose with 5-6 whorls of 3(-4) bracts, scarious, with a narrow stalklike base, translucent on the margins. Seeds 3(-4), ovoid apiculate, keeled (Martínez Carretero 2018).

Martínez Carretero (2018) also gives a key to the six Argentine species of Ephedra.

Distribution and Ecology

Argentina, at elevations of 490-1470 m; it is only known from a small number of roadside collections, often near sand dunes or on steep banks (Bell and Bachman 2011).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.03.03.

Ethnobotany

Observations

Remarks

The epithet honors Osvaldo Boelcke (1920-1990), Argentinian plant collector and botanist.

Citations

Bell, A. and S. Bachman. 2011. Ephedra boelckei. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/201700/9168538, accessed 2021.12.30.

Martínez Carretero, Eduardo. 2018. Ephedraceae Dumort. in Flora de Mendoza, Multequina 27: Fascículo 10, FM 1-9. Available: https://www.redalyc.org/jatsRepo/428/42857911008/42857911008.pdf, accessed 2021.12.26.

Roig, F. A. 1984. Ephedra boelckei (Ephedraceae), nueva especie sudamericana de la seccion Alatae Stapf. Parodiana 3(1):11-19. [not available online]

Saenz, A. A. 1994. Ephedraceae. 1:40–43 in R. Kiesling (ed.) Fl. San Juan. Vázquez Mazzini Editores, Buenos Aires.

See also

Species profile at Plants of the World Online, accessed 2021.12.29.