Photo
Details
1. plant, 2. stem close-up, December 12, 2004 - Red Butte Gardens, Salt
Lake County, Utah - more...Mormon
Tea at Dead Horse
Point - ©Nicky Davis
Description
syn. Joint Grass
Size: 3 to 4 feet tall, Flowers: inconspicuous yellow
flower, Leaves:
minute, Stems:
green jointed stems which perform
photosynthesis for the plant
This perennial plant is a native Utah shrub
with a high tolerance to drought and fire. It has a medium
palatablitily to browsing animals. Mormon settlers made a
tea
from the stems."The Navajo brewed the tops into a drink for use
as a cough medicine.
Other indians roasted the seeds, ate them whole or ground them into a
meal for various uses" (Elmore and Janish 1976). The plant
contains the drug pseudoephedrine, which is sold commercially as a
nasal decongestant and cold remedy. Some Old World species contain
ephedrine, a stronger stimulant which is sometimes used as a weight
loss and energy enhancing drug. Green ephedra is highly toxic to both domestic sheep
and cows during
gestation, even at low doses. Green ephedra plant tissue contains
ephedrine, pseudoephedrine,
norephedrine, N-methyl pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, N-mehtyl
pseudoephedrine, and a high tannin content
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