''Ephedra pedunculata'', common name vine Mormon tea or Comida de Vívora, is a plant species native to southern

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

as far south as

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

. It grows in sandy or rocky slopes and outcrops. Most species of ''Ephedra'' (called "

Mormon tea ''Ephedra'' is a genus of gymnosperm shrubs. The various species of ''Ephedra'' are widespread in many arid regions of the world, ranging across southwestern North America, southern Europe, northern Africa, southwest and central Asia, northern ...

") are shrubs, but ''Ephedra pedunculata'' is a trailing or clambering woody vine up to long. Bark is gray, becoming cracked with age. Leaves are opposite, up to long.

Microsporangia Microsporangia are sporangia that produce microspores that give rise to male gametophytes when they germinate. Microsporangia occur in all vascular plants that have heterosporic life cycles, such as seed plants, spike mosses and the aquatic fer ...

l (pollen-producing cones) are 1–2 mm long, compared to less than 1 mm in many other species. Seed cones are long, each containing 2 ellipsoid seeds long.Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas i–xv, 1–1881. The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson.

References

pedunculata Plants described in 1883 Flora of Texas Flora of Mexico {{gymnosperm-stub