38 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 
we have been able to judge from the description and from the type material, the 
only difference suggested between the two is that the stumps left after J. pinchoti 
has been cut produce sprouts while those of J. monosperma do not, scarcely a sub- 
stantial specific difference. As a matter of fact the stumps left after trees of the com- 
mon cedar have been cut down often send up sprouts, just as they are said to do in 
this lately published species. 
What is probably a form of J. monosperma, or possibly a distinct species, was 
described by Lemmon! as Juniperus occidentalis gymnocarpa. It is said to have 
the solitary seed partly exposed at the apex, hence the name. Mr. Lemmon states 
that this form is “abundant on the Sandia Mountains, near Albuquerque,’ New 
Mexico. No specimens have been seen by the writers. The same form has been 
collected near Fort Huachuca, Arizona, by Gen. T. E. Wilcox. 
Order 6. GNETALES. 
7a. EPHEDRACEAE, Joint-fir Family. 
1. EPHEDRA L. 
Shrubs 2 meters high or less, with slender terete striate stems; leaves reduced to 
small scarious bracts disposed in whorls at the nodes; flowers dicecious; fruit consisting 
of 1 or more seeds inclosed in few or many, chaffy, brownish or greenish scales, 
Our species occur in the drier and lower parts of the State, on the sandy mesas, 
along arroyos, and on the rocky low slopes of the mountains, associated with mesquite, 
creosote bush, cactus, desert willow, and the like. A tea made by boiling the branches 
in water is used by the Mexicans and Indians as a remedy for venereal diseases and 
kidney affections. A chemical analysis shows a relatively high percentage of tannin 
in the stems. The shrubs are variously known as ‘‘popotillo,’’ ‘‘cafiatillo,’’ ‘“Mormon 
tea,’’ and ‘‘Brigham Young weed,” as also by several other names. 
KEY TO THE SPECIES. 
Leaf scales in 2’s; cone scales few. 
Scales of the fruit acutish; fruit sharply angled; branches 
very numerous, erect, bright green................. Ll. E. viridis. 
Scales rounded-obtuse; fruit scarcely angled; branches few, 
somewhat spreading, yellowish....................-. 2. EB. antisyphilitica. 
Leaf scales in 3’s; cone scales numerous. 
Leaf scales 5 mm. long or less, merely acute, not acerose; 
fruit scabrous, less than 10 mm. long................ 3. H, torreyana. 
Leaf scales 8 to 10 mm. long, acerose; fruit smooth, 10 to 13 
mm. long....-.....---. 2... eee e eee eee ee eee eee 4, EH. trifurca. 
1. Ephedra viridis Coville, Contr. U. 8. Nat. Herb. 4: 220. 1893. 
Tyre Locauity: Near Crystal Spring, Coso Mountains, Inyo County, California. 
Rance: Southeastern California to Utah and western New Mexico. 
New Mexico: Western San Juan County; common. Mesas and low hills, in the 
Upper Sonoran Zone. 
2. Ephedra antisyphilitica Meyer, Monogr. Ephedra 101. 1846. 
Type Locauiry: “Hab. in Mexici provincia orientali Coahuila, prope Laredo ad 
Rio del Norte.” 
Ran@eE: Colorado and Texas to Mexico. 
New Mexico: Bishops Cap; Tortugas Mountain. Mesasand dry hills, in the Lower 
and Upper Sonoran zones, | 
1 Handbook of West-American cone-bearers 80. 1895. 
