Ephedra pedunculata, common name vine Mormon tea or Comida de Vívora, is a plant species native to southern Texas and to Mexico as far south as Zacatecas. It grows in sandy or rocky slopes and outcrops.Flora of North America v 2CONABIO. 2009. Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. 1. In Capital Nat. México. CONABIO, Mexico D.F.
Most species of Ephedra (called "Mormon tea") are shrubs, but Ephedra pedunculata is a trailing or clambering woody vine up to long. Bark is gray, becoming cracked with age. Leaves are opposite, up to long. Microsporangial (pollen-producing cones) are 1–2 mm long, compared to less than 1 mm in many other species. Seed cones are long, each containing 2 ellipsoid seeds long.Watson, Sereno. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 18: 157. 1883.Cutler, H. C. 1939. Monograph of the North American species of the genus Ephedra. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 26: 373--427.Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas i–xv, 1–1881. The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson.
This plant is also rich in flavonoids, which is used in a variety of nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications.
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