Morphological characteristics of ephedra maculata

Dwarf shrub, nearly cushion-shaped, 5- 15 cm high and 20-30 cm thin, with highly lignified roots and stems, woody branches, short and hard nodes, thick nodes, thin and short green branchlets, dense nodes, pseudo-whorls arranged radially, thin and short nodes, 1- 1. The leaf membrane is sheath-shaped, very small, about 1 mm long, and the lower half 1/2 is United: the upper half is 2-lobed, the lobes are broadly triangular, and the apex is slightly blunt. Male cones are opposite at nodes, 2-3 mm long, sessile, bracts are usually 2- 13 pairs, the pseudoperianth of male flowers is obovate, with 5-8 stamens, and all filaments are United, and about 1/2 protrudes from the pseudoperianth; Female flowers are solitary, with 2 pairs of bracts and 3 sparse pairs. The next pair is small, and the last pair is the longest, about 1/2. Female flowers usually have 2 flowers. The pseudoperianth around the ovule is rough, with rows of broken tiny protrusions. Perianth tube length is about 1 mm or less, and the tip is inclined and slightly curved. Usually there are 2 seeds, longer than bracts, about 1/3 exposed, yellowish brown, ovoid, ovoid or rectangular, 4-6 mm long and about 3 mm in diameter. There are longitudinal ribs at the center and both sides of the back, and the protrusions are neat and obvious, and there are rows of fine crumb protrusions between the ribs and the ventral surface.