YEW FAMILY 19 



bracts, axillary. Pollen-sacs 6-8 under each shield-like scale. Pistillate aments 

 consisting of a single sessile ovule subtended by imbricate bracts. Aril accres- 

 cent into a fleshy cup. Seeds nut-like. 



1. T. brevifolia Nutt. A tree usually 5-10 m. high, occasionally as high 

 as 20 m., with a trunk 3-10 dm. thick; bark scaly; leaves 1-2 cm. long, yellowish 

 green, paler beneath, slender-petioled, linear, flat, with strong midrib, spinulose- 

 tipped; staminate flowers yellow; seed ovoid, fully 5 mm. long, 2-4-angled; 

 aril a translucent red cup, 4-5 mm. broad. Banks of streams: Alaska Alta. 

 Mont. Calif. Submont. Mont. 



Family 4. EPHEDRACEAE. JOINT FIR FAMILY. 



Shrubs or trees, with jointed opposite or fascicled branches, and scale-like 

 opposite or whorled leaves. Plants mostly dioecious; aments with per- 

 sistent bracts. Stamens monadelphous, within a bifid, membranous, calyx- 

 like perianth; anthers dehiscent by terminal pores. Pistillate flowers of a 

 single naked ovule, enclosed in a perianth, which becomes hardened in fruit. 



1. EPHEDRA L. JOINT FIR, BRIGHAM TEA. 



Characters of the family. 



Scales and branches opposite; bracts opposite and connate, only the margins scarious. 

 Scales distinct, subpersistent; filaments free above. 1. E. antisyphylitica. 



Scales connate, sheathing, scarious, deciduous; filaments adnate to the top of the 



bracts. 

 Branches stout, more or less spreading; plant light brownish green. 



2. E. nevadensis. 



Branches slender, erect; plant bright yellowish green. 3. E. viridis. 



Scales, branches, and bracts in 3's; bracts scarcely connate, those of the pistillate 



aments nearly wholly scarious and more or less unguiculate. 

 Scales 2-3 mm. long, not becoming shreddy; fruit scabrous. 4. E. Torreyana. 



Scales 6-12 mm. long, becoming shreddy; fruit smooth. 5. E. trifurca. 



1. E. antisyphylitica C. A. Mey. A shrub 2-3 m. high; stems slender, lax, 

 prostrate or reclining; bark neither shreddy nor fibrous; scales triangular-ovate, 

 2-4 mm. long, setaceously tipped when young; aments on short bracteate ped- 

 uncles; pistillate aments with 3-4 pairs of bracts, which are rounded-ovate; fruit 

 5-6 mm. long, smooth. Arid regions: w Tex. $ Colo. (?) n Mex. Son. 



2. E. nevadensis S. Wats. A shrub 6-10 dm. high, with diffusely spread- 

 ing branches; bark becoming white and shreddy or fibrous; scales with somewhat 

 foliaceous tips, 2-6 mm. long; staminate aments sessile or nearly so; filaments 

 long-exserted ; anthers 4-8; pistillate aments on short scaly peduncles; bracts 4 

 or 5 pairs, round-ovate, connate; fruit solitary or in pairs, 6-7 mm. long, exserted, 

 smooth, acute. Arid regions: N.M. Utah Nev. Calif.; n Mex. Son. 



3. E. viridis Coville. An erect shrub 5-10 dm. high, with erect branches, 

 bright yellowish green; bark becoming ash-colored; scales with slender foliaceous 

 tips; staminate aments sessile; anthers 4-6; pistillate aments on short scaly 

 peduncles; bracts 5 pairs, ovate; fruits in pairs, 6 mm. long, exserted. Arid 

 regions: N.M. Wyo. Calif. Son. Submont. Mr -Je. 



4. E. Torreyana S. Wats. An erect shrub 3-10 dm. high, with often flexuose 

 branches, not spinose; scales short, 2-4 mm. long, subpersistent; staminate 

 aments sessile, of 6-8 whorls of broad bracts; anthers 5-8, stipitate; pistillate 

 aments 6^10 mm. long, short-peduncled, of 5 or 6 whorls of bracts; bracts thin, 

 broadly dilated, more or less crenate; fruit solitary, or in 3's, 7-8 mm. long. Arid 

 regions: N.M. s Colo. Nev. Ariz. Son. 



5. E. trifurca Torr. An erect shrub 6-20 dm. high, with rigid branches, often 

 spinescent; scales acuminate, persistent; staminate aments on very short ped- 

 uncles, with 5 whorls of ovate bracts; anthers 4 or 5, stipitate; pistillate aments 

 nearly sessile, 10-12 mm. long, of 8-10 whorls of very thin, scarious, entire, 

 rounded-cordate bracts; fruit solitary, 12 mm. long, 4-sided. Arid regions: w 

 Tex. sw Colo. Ariz. Son. 



