Ephedra intermedia LC Taxonomic Authority: Schrenk & C.A.Mey.  Global Assessment  Regional Assessment Region: Global  Endemic to region Synonyms Common Names ferganensis V.V. Nikitin HAMA Pushto Ephedra glauca Regel SOON Urdu Ephedra intermedia v Stapf ZHONG MA HUANG Chinese Ephedra intermedia v Stapf Ephedra intermedia v Stapf Ephedra intermedia v Stapf Ephedra microsperm V.V. Nikitin Ephedra persica (Sta V.V. Nikitin Ephedra tesquorum V.V. Nikitin Ephedra tibetica (Sta V.V. Nikitin Ephedra valida V.V. Nikitin

Upper Level Taxonomy Kingdom: PLANTAE Phylum: TRACHEOPHYTA Class: GNETOPSIDA Order: EPHEDRALES Family: EPHEDRACEAE Lower Level Taxonomy Rank: Infra- rank name:  Hybrid Subpopulation: Authority:

The character states distinguishing Ephedra. var. glauca and E. var. tibetica from typical Ephedra intermedia may all be observed together in a single population; the species is therefore not divided here (Flora of 2010)

General Information Distribution Occurs from south western to and Himalaya and eastern China.

Range Size Elevation Biogeographic Realm Area of Occupancy: Upper limit: 4600  Afrotropical Extent of Occurrence: Lower limit: 100-800  Antarctic Map Status: Depth  Australasian Upper limit:  Neotropical Lower limit:  Oceanian Depth Zones  Palearctic  Shallow photic  Bathyl  Hadal  Indomalayan  Photic  Abyssal  Nearctic Population Exact population size not known, but known from a large number of sub-populations.

Total Population Size Minimum Population Size: Maximum Population Size: Habitat and Ecology Shrub growing in grasslands, deserts, river valleys, floodlands, sandy beaches, cliffs, other dry, sandy or rocky places (Flora of China 2010). Often found on mountain slopes in gravelly and sandy soil; normally in arid areas. Associated with Juniper and Berberis. Flowering from March - July and fruiting from July - August.

System Movement pattern Crop Wild Relative  Terrestrial  Freshwater  Nomadic  Congregatory/Dispersive  Is the species a wild relative of a crop?  Marine  Migratory  Altitudinally migrant

Growth From Definition Shrub - small Perennial shrub small (<1m) or dwarf shrub, also termed a Chamaephyte (<1m)

Threats The are harvested from the wild in for local and international use. The species contains a relatively high proportion (c.a. 0.7%) of ephedrine alkaloids, alhthough E. gerardiana is favoured in this region due to an even higher ephedrine content (1 - 2.5 %). The risk of over-harvesting should be investigated.

Past Present Future 3 Harvesting (hunting/gathering)  3.2 Medicine  3.2.1 Subsistence use/local trade  3.2.2 Sub-national/national trade  Conservation Measures Samples have been collected for ex-situ conservation as part of the Millennium Seed Bank project and collections are known to occur in more than 20 botanic gardens and umerous subpopulations occur within the protected area network. Monitoring of wild harvesting is suggested to better understand how this is affecting popualtion size.

In Place Needed 3 Research actions  3.2 Population numbers and range  3.5 Threats  3.6 Uses and harvest levels  3.9 Trends/Monitoring  4 Habitat and site-based actions  4.4 Protected areas  5 Species-based actions  5.7 Ex situ conservation actions  5.7.2 Genome resource bank 

Countries of Occurrence

PRESENCE ORIGIN Year Breeding Non- Passage Possibly ExtinctPresence Native Introduced Re- Vagrant Origin Round Season breeding migrant extinct uncertain Introduced uncertain only season only    China    Gansu    Guangdong    Guangxi    Hebei    Liaoning    Nei Monggol    Ningxia    Shaanxi    Sichuan    Tibet    Xinjiang    India    Himachal Pradesh    Jammu-Kashmir    Uttar Pradesh    Iran, Islamic Republic of    Kazakhstan    Kyrgyzstan       Pakistan    Russian Federation    Altay    West Siberia    Tajikistan    Turkmenistan    Uzbekistan   

General Habitats Score Description Major Importance 4 Grassland 1UnsetSuitable 4.4 Grassland - Temperate1Unset Suitable 6 Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)1 Suitable Not applicable

Ecosystem Services  Insufficient Information available  Species provides no ecosystem services

Species Utilisation  Species is not utilised at all

Purpose / Type of Use Subsistence National International 14. Research  3. Medicine - human and veterinary  The stems of most members of this genus contain the alkaloid ephedrine and are valuable in the treatment of asthma and many other complaints of the respiratory system (Plants for a Future 2010). Ma-huang is used in Chinese medicine for more than 5000 years as a treatment for fever, nasal congestion, and asthma. Is also an effective respiratory sedative and cough remedy. Herbal mixtures containing Ma-huang are sold in health food stores in the West as nutricional supplements under such names as Herbal Ecstasy and Escalation accompanied by dubious claims that they have energizing value or assist in dieting. Is obtained from the dried steams (Caveney et al., 2001, Plants for a Future 2010). It is also know to have a number of other medicinal uses including: lowering blood pressure, treatment for night seating and spontaneous sweating, antiviral effects, treatment of hay fever and allergic complaints and dilation of bronchial vessels (Plants for a Future 2010).

Trend in the level of wild offtake/harvest in relation to total wild population numbers over the last five years: Unknown Trend in the amount of offtake/harvest produced through domestication/cultivation over the last five years: Unknown CITES status: Not listed

Livelihood Value

Primary Product

Scale of Assessment: National Name of Location/Country/Region: Pakistan Date: Description of product (eg. skin, meat, horn, fibre, etc.): Ephedrine For Single Species Harvest When Part of a Multi-species Harvest for this Product: Estimated annual harvest of the product: Not Known Estimated annual multi-species harvest: Units: Units: The species contribution to the total harvest (%): Users Amount of this species within multi-species harvest: Primary level of human reliance on the product: Not known Who are the primary harvesters of this resource? By gender/age? Not known By socio-economic group? Not known Specify other: Value to Livelihoods Proportion (%) of total population benefiting from this product: Not known Proportion (%) of household consumption (if dietary as a % of protein/carbohydrate) for this product: Not known Proportion (as a %) of household income for this product: Not known Value to Economy Annual cash income from this product - gross (in US$): Not known

IUCN Red Listing Red List Assessment:(using 2001 IUCN system) Least Concern (LC)

Red List Criteria: Date Last Seen (only for EX, EW or Possibly EX species): Is the species Possibly Extinct?  Possibly Extinct Candidate?  Rationale for the Red List Assessment The wide range and large number of subpopulations indicates a species under no immediate threat. However, harvesting for medicinal purposes, mainly related to products derived from the alkaloid ephedrine, may be causing declines in some areas. Reason(s) for Change in Red List Category from the Previous Assessment:  Genuine Change  Nongenuine Change  No Change  Genuine (recent)  New information  Taxonomy  Same category  Genuine (since first assessment)  Knowledge of Criteria  Criteria Revisio and criteria  Incorrect data used  Other  Same category but previously change in criteria Current Population Trend: Stable Date of Assessment: 19/09/2010 Name(s) of the Assessor(s): A.Bell & S.Bachman Evaluator(s): Notes:

% population decline in the past: Time period over which the past decline has been measured for applying Criterion A or C1 (in years or generations): % population decline in the future: Time period over which the future decline has been measured for applying Criterion A or C1 (in years or generations): Number of Locations: Severely Fragmented: Number of Mature Individuals:

Bibliography Caveney,S., Charlet, D.A., Freitag,H., Maier-Stolte, M., Starratt, A.N., 2001, New Observations on the Secondary Chemistry of World Ephedra (Ephedraceae), American Journal of Botany7, 1199-1208, , Flora of China, 2010, Ephedraceae, Flora of China2010, , , Plants for a Future, 1996-2010, Plants For A Future, Earth, Plants, People., , , RBG Kew, 2009, World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, , Published on the Internet; http://www.kew.org/wcsp/,