Ephedra fragilis

Ephedra fragilis, commonly named the joint pine, is a species of Ephedra that is native to the western Mediterranean region of southern Europe and Northern Africa, and from Madeira and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic.^[1][2][3]

Ephedra fragilis
Ephedra fragilis Algeciras, Spain
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Gymnospermae
Division:	Gnetophyta
Class:	Gnetopsida
Order:	Ephedrales
Family:	Ephedraceae
Genus:	Ephedra
Species:	E. fragilis
Binomial name
Ephedra fragilis Desf.
Synonyms[1]
Ephedra dissoluta Webb & Berthel. Ephedra fragilis subsp. dissoluta (Webb & Berthel.) Trab Ephedra fragilis subsp. desfontainii Asch. & Graebn Ephedra gibraltarica Boiss. Ephedra wettsteinii Buxb. Ephedra altissima Buch 1828, illegitimate homonym, not Desf. 1799 nor Delile 1813 nor Bové 1834

Its habitats are rocky hills and stone walls, where it grows to 2m tall.^[4]

Taxonomy

The plant was originally described by René Louiche Desfontaines in 1799 and placed in section Pseudobaccatae (=sect. Ephedra sect. Ephedra), "tribe" Scandentes by Otto Stapf in 1889.

In 1996 Robert A. Price classified E. fragilis in section Ephedra without recognizing a tribe.^[5]

Subspecies

1. Ephedra fragilis subsp. cossonii (Stapf) Maire - Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara
2. Ephedra fragilis subsp. fragilis - Spain, Portugal, Balearic Islands, Sicily, Calabria, Morocco, Western Sahara, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Madeira, Canary Islands

Conservation

Ephedra fragilis is a Least Concern species on the IUCN Red List.^[6]