| Research Abstract |
We conducted collaborative field surveys with researches in respective countries in the following regions, and collected approximately 370 specimens from 139 independent communities; In 2005, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Hebei, Sichuan Provinces, China, and the environs of Ulan Bator and the south-west part of the Gobi Desert, Mongolia. In 2006, Hebei, Gansu, Xinjiang Provinces, China, and the Buryat Republic and the Maritime Region, Russia. In 2007, Beijing and Yunnan, Sichuan, Hebei Provinces, and the Mongolian border region of Inner Mongolia, China.
By analysis of morphology and DNA of the specimens, we could identify them except 2 specimens as Ephedra sinica, E. dahulica, E. intermedia, E. equisetina, E. likiangensis, E. monosperma, E. przewarskii, E. minuta, E. gerardiana. We concluded that E. sinica and E. dahulica were the same species, since they had similar morphology and identical DNA sequences. On the other hand, we found that European E. distachya, which some researches
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have been thought the same species as Ephedra sinica and E. dahulica, was significantly varied from them. By germination tests, E. sinica was found halotorerant, similar to seaside plants. Furthermore, E. sinica grown in arid land had relatively higher ephedrine alkaloid contents than those in wetland. We could find some anatomical key differences between E. sinica and E. intermedia, while the other anatomical properties varied significantly by region. We observed E. likiangensis actually grown in Mao-zhou, Sichuan, where recent distribution of it was not reported but it had been written as a producing area of high quality Ma-huang in classic herbals of the Ming Dynasty.
Our investigation suggests that diversification of Ephedra plant was noticeable in the regions from the Altai Mountains. down to Sichuan Province and the regions of their western side. We will continue the survey to the western regions including the Near and Middle East, Europe, and the North and South America to research the current resource and distribution of Ephedra plants worldwide. Less
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