Studies on the diversity and taxonomy of Ephedra plants.

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We have carried out field investigations in 12 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and USA and collected 28 taxa of Ephedra including E. distachya and E. sinica. Interdisciplinary study of these samples clarified that the anatomical and chemical diversities in E. sinica were largely controlled by the precipitation or wetness of the habitat, but cultivation experiments also indicated minor control by genetic factors. Based on these analyses, we showed that E. distachya and E. sinica were different taxa although some researchers regarded them as synonymous.