Ephedra

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Ephedra is a genus of gymnosperm shrubs, the only genus in the family Ephedraceae and order Ephedrales. These plants occur in dry climates over a wide area mainly in the Northern Hemisphere, across southern Europe, north Africa, southwest and central Asia, southwestern North America, and, in the Southern Hemisphere, in South America south to Patagonia. They are also called Joint-pine, Jointfir, or Mormon-tea. The Chinese name is 麻黄, ma huang, which means "yellow hemp". Ephedra is also sometimes called sea grape (from the French raisin de mer), although that is also a common name for Coccoloba uvifera.

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Gymnosperm: Gymnosperms are seed-bearing, vascular plants. The term gymnosperm comes from the Greek word gumnospermos, literally meaning "naked seed". This term is applied because the seeds of these plants are not formed in an enclosed ovulary (that is, a pistil with one or more carpels, developing into a frui...

Shrub: :"Shrub" is also a derogatory nickname for United States President George W Bush....

Northern Hemisphere: The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet's surface (or celestial sphere) that is north of the equator (the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball'). On Earth, the Northern Hemisphere contains most of the land and population....