Ephedra nevadensis

Nevada ephedra

Family: Ephedraceae · Type: shrub · Native

Nevada ephedra is a California native shrub found in southern Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi Range, southern Sierra Nevada east, and desert regions in creosote-bush scrub and Joshua-tree woodland at elevations below 1,100 meters. Its pale green twigs age from a glaucous green to yellow or gray, creating a distinctive branching structure. Growing 0.3 to 1.5 meters tall with slender, segmented branches, this plant has small gray deciduous leaves in clusters of two to three at each node. Its leaves are tiny, measuring 2 to 6 millimeters long, with a characteristic gray base that falls away seasonally. The plant produces small reproductive cones with broad-ovate bracts that have translucent yellow margins, creating delicate structural elements across its branching form.

Habitat: Creosote-bush scrub, Joshua-tree woodland

Elevation: < 1100 m

Bioregions: s SN, TR, SNE, D

California counties: Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Inyo, Kern, Riverside, Mono, Imperial, San Diego, Tulare, Ventura, Lassen

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.