A genus of low, leafless, green-stemmed shrubs belonging to the plant class Ginkgoopsida of the division Pinophyta (see illus.). They grow in dry, alkaline soils around the world. In the southwestern United States these plants are called Mormon tea and jointfir. The drug ephedrine is extracted from the Asiatic species Ephedra sinica and E. equisetina. It is used medicinally in the treatment of colds, hay fever, and asthma.