Ephedra
Ephedra sinica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Gnetophyta Class: Gnetopsida Order: Ephedrales Family: Ephedraceae Genus: Ephedra L. Species: E. sinica
Binomial name
Ephedra sinica

Ephedra sinica is a member of the ephedraceae family, native to China. It is also known as "Chinese Ephedra", Ma Huang, and "ephedra". Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 615 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Ephedra sinica (草麻黃) grown by me in a flowerpot. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta—liverworts Anthocerotophyta—hornworts Bryophyta—mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta—rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta—zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta—clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta—trimerophytes Pteridophyta—ferns and horsetails Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta—seed ferns Pinophyta—conifers Cycadophyta—cycads Ginkgophyta—ginkgo Gnetophyta—gnetae Magnoliophyta—flowering plants... taxa: Gnetales Welwitschiales Ephedrales The plant division Gnetophyta or gnetophytes comprise three related families of woody plants grouped in the gymnosperms, a paraphyletic group of seed plant divisions. ... taxa: Gnetales Welwitschiales Ephedrales The plant division Gnetophyta or gnetophytes comprise three related families of woody plants grouped in the gymnosperms, a paraphyletic group of seed plant divisions. ... Species See text Ephedra is a genus of gymnosperm shrubs, the only genus in the family Ephedraceae and order Ephedrales. ... Species See text Ephedra is a genus of gymnosperm shrubs, the only genus in the family Ephedraceae and order Ephedrales. ... Species See text. ... Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707[1] – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician, zoologist and gay rights campaigner[2] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Species See text Ephedra is a genus of gymnosperm shrubs, the only genus in the family Ephedraceae and order Ephedrales. ...

Ethnomedical uses

• Dried aerial parts are used to treat asthma, allergic rhinitis, upper respiratory infection, colds, and as a general stimulant.

Look up Aerial in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Aerial may refer to— a dance move. ... Rhinitis is the medical term describing irritation and inflammation of the nose. ... Stimulants are drugs that temporarily increase alertness and wakefulness. ...

Legality

As of April 21^st, 2006, the FDA's decision to ban nutritional/diet supplements from containing the plant or extracts thereof of ephedra was upheld by the Tenth Circuit courts.

U.S. federal congress is currently discussing the scheduling of pseudoephedrine into Schedule V. Jan 2005. The bill created in Congress is S 103, Jan 24, 2005. The Controlled Substances Act (CSA), Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, is the legal foundation of the United States governments fight against the abuse of drugs and other substances. ...

References

• http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ephedra/NS_patient-ephedra
• http://www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/ephedra/february2004/
• http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/Organizations/DDIL/ephedrine.html
• http://data.opi.state.mt.us/bills/mca/50/32/50-32-229.htm

See Also

• Ephedrine