Ephedra fragilis, commonly named the joint pine, is a species of Ephedra from the western Mediterranean region of southern Europe (Italy, Spain, and Portugal) and Northern Africa, and from Madeira and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant FamiliesDobignard, A. & Chatelain, C. (2011). Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 3: 1-449. Éditions des conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève.Altervista Flora Italiana, Efedra fragile, Ephedra fragilis Desf.
Its habitats are rocky hills and stone walls, where it grows to 2m tall.PFAF Plant Database — Ephedra fragilis . accessed 1.10.2013
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.Price, R. A. (1996). Systematics of the Gnetales: A review of morphological and molecular evidence. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 157(6): S40-S49.
Subspecies Ephedra fragilis subsp. cossonii (Stapf) Maire - Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara 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.IUCN Red List: Ephedra fragilis (joint pine). accessed 1.10.2013
References
External links