Torrey's Mormon Tea, Torrey's Jointfir,Ephedra torreyana,Jointfir Family (Ephedraceae)

Found in dry areas, canyons, hillsides
Seen blooming in May in Red Wash Canyon
For most of the year you will walk past this twiggy, unpretentious shrub but at this time of the year, when it is in bloom, it is very conspicuous. It grows to about three feet tall with blue green to olive green branches and twigs growing at odd angles. Plants are either male or female and produce cones for reproduction rather than flowers. The photo is of the bright yellow, pollen-producing male. The species serves as food for wildlife and is eaten by livestock, especially sheep. This species of Ephedra has no ephedrine or pseudoephedrine and has no medicinal qualities; the commercial drug ephedrine comes from an Ephedra which grows in China or is produced synthetically. People of the Mormon faith brew a tea from these plants by steeping the stems in boiling water, giving it its common name. Source.
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