Ephedra intermedia, with the Chinese common name of Zhong Ma Huang, is a species of Ephedra that is native to Siberia, Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the western Himalayas, Tibet, Mongolia, and China.

Description

Ephedra intermedia is found in deserts, grasslands, floodlands and river valleys, slopes and cliffs, and sandy beaches. It grows at elevations of 100 - 4600 m, in rocky or sandy dry habitats. The plant grows to 1 m tall. The strobili are dioecious, either male or female on any one plant, so both male and female plants are needed for seeds.

Taxonomy

It was originally described by Alexander Gustav von Schrenk and Carl Anton von Meyer in 1846. It was placed in section Pseudobaccatae (=sect. Ephedra sect. Ephedra), "tribe" Pachycladae by Otto Stapf in 1889. In 1996 Robert A. Price classified E. intermedia in section Ephedra without recognizing a tribe.