Botanical Name: Ephedra sinica. Other Common Names: Ma huang, teamster's tea, sea ephedrine, desert tea, yellow horse, yellow astringent, joint fir, squaw tea, mormon tea, popotillo and sea grape. Habitat: Northern China, Mongolia, India, Southwestern United States, Persia (Turkey, Iraq, and Iran) and western areas of South America. Plant Description: Ma huang is a xerophytic, jointed, bark less plant which grows as a small shrub, 30-50 cm in height which produces red, poisonous cones. The ephedra species (EPHEDRACEAE) thrives best in mountainous areas or sandy deserts. Geographically, countries located in the warm, semi-arid temperature zones with an annual rainfall of
