Facts
-Ephedra viridis earned its nickname of "Mormon Tea"
because it was often made into a tea-like beverage by early
Mormon
settlers.
-The Mormon settlers who gave the plant its common name, along with other Native American settlers often used the plant as an herbal medicine for several different illnesses, including sexually transmitted diseases! For more information, see Interactions.
-Ephedra viridis is one of about 40 different species of Ephedra
-When used as an herbal medicine, certain species of Ephedra have the capacity to either save your life or kill you! Since it can be so dangerous, the FDA banned the use of the Ephedra alkaloid ephedrine from weight loss supplements in the year 2004.
-I chose the organism Ephedra viridis for this website because I will soon be attending pharmacy school, and this plant and other species like it have medicinal properties, relating this organism to my future career.
-Ephedra viridis has a lot of features like a vessels in the secondary xylem, undergoing double fertilization, and brightly colored flower-like cones that lead people to believe that it and other plants belonging to the phylum Gnetophyta are the links between the conifers and angiosperms.
-Now that you're an expert on Ephedra viridis, please visit some of these websites that helped make me an expert:
-Ephedra virids by Maya Strunk
-Green Ephedra: Utah State University
Don't stop there! Many different people and sources helped me make this website possible, and I wouldn't want to use their information without giving them the proper credit! To see the complete list of sources I used to obtain information for this website, please view my References page. Otherwise, go Home.
