Flora of Israel: Joint pine

Ephedra foeminea, Ephedra campylopoda, Joint pine,
Leafless Ephedra, Hebrew: שרביטן מצוי, Arabic: عدام , علندي

Scientific name:   Ephedra foeminea Forssk.
Synonym name:   Ephedra campylopoda C.A.Mey.
Common name:   Joint pine, Leafless Ephedra
Hebrew name:   שרביטן מצוי
Arabic name:   عدام , علندي
Family:   Ephedraceae, שרביטניים


Life form:   Phanerophyte, shrub
Stems:   Small branches glabrous, gray-green, aging red-brown at first, later gray; uppermost bud elliptic; pith white
Leaves:   Opposite, scale
Flowers:   Green, Yellow
Fruits / pods:   Male cones in dense axillary clusters or on side branches; female cones axillary or on side branches; ripe cones fleshy and red-colored; seeds 1 or 2 per fruit; 6–9 mm, generally > 2 × as long as wide, smooth
Flowering Period:   April, May, June, July, August, September, October
Habitat:   Mediterranean maquis and forest
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Perennating


Derivation of the botanical name:

Ephedra, the Greek name used by Pliny for the common mare’s tail (Hippuris; hippo “horse” and oura “tail”) which it somewhat resembles. certain species are the source of ephedrine which, as ma-huang, the Chinese have used in medicine for centuries.

foeminea, feminine.
campylopoda, campylos, καμπυλοϛ, curved, bent; pous, a foot; a curved foot.
The Hebrew name: שרביטן, sharvitan, from שרביט, sharvit (scepter), because of the structure of the branches of the species.

  • The standard author abbreviation Forssk. is used to indicate Peter Forsskål (1732 – 1763), a Swedish explorer, orientalist and naturalist.
  • The standard author abbreviation C.A.Mey. is used to indicate Carl Anton von Meyer (1795 – 1855), a Russian botanist and explorer.