[Illustration: Ephedra trifurca
E. antisyphilitica]
Common Names: MORMON-TEA, BRIGHAM-TEA, JOINTER, (_POPOTILLA_),
(_TEPOSOTE_), (_CANATILLA_)
Arizona and Texas deserts: (_Ephedra trifurca_). Pale yellow. Spring.
California desert: (_Ephedra californica_). Pale yellow. Spring.
Jointfir family. Size: Harsh, stringy perennials, from 2 to 10 feet
tall and sometimes 5 or 6 feet in diameter.
Apparently leafless, these common Southwestern shrubs do have leaves,
although they are reduced to tiny scales. The harsh, stringy stems are
green to yellow-green and, when dried, were used with the flowers in
making a palatable brew, particularly by the Utah pioneers; hence the
names Mormon-tea and Brigham-tea. The beverage was also popular with
Indians and settlers in treating syphilis and other afflictions, as it
contains tannin and certain alkaloids. Flowers are small, pale yellow,
and appear in the spring at which time the plants are quite noticeable,
and attract large numbers of insects.