A detailed guide to Ephedra cultivation techniques: master the scientific growing methods
Ephedra（Kangmei Mall) Also known as caoma, a deciduous small shrub, 20-40 cm tall, with a very short woody stem that often lies prostrate on the ground. The branchlets are round, straight or slightly curved, opposite or whorled, with internodes 3-4 cm long and about 2 mm in diameter. The leaves are membranous and sheath-like, 2 opposite at the nodes. It is dioecious. The male cone consists of many densely clustered male flowers forming a compound spike, with bracts in 4 pairs. When the seeds mature, the bracts are fleshy and red, oblong-ovoid or broadly ovate, blackish red or grayish brown, 5-6 mm long and 2.5-3.5 mm in diameter, with the surface often finely wrinkled; the hilum is semicircular and fairly conspicuous. The flowering period is April-May, and the fruiting period is June-July.
Ephedra is light-loving, drought-tolerant, salt-alkali tolerant, and highly adaptable, often growing on dry grasslands and sandy wastelands. It has strong sprouting ability.
Key points for raising seedlings
Sowing and seedling raising: The harvested berry-like false fruits should be promptly placed in water and rubbed, the fleshy bracts filtered out, and the pure seeds retained; after drying in the sun, when the seed moisture content is below 8%, store them in a ventilated, dry, and cool place. The 1000-seed weight is 7.1-10 g, and the seed germination rate is 34%-82%. In Inner Mongolia, sowing is done in mid-April, and seedlings can emerge in late April. The sowing rate is 5-10 kg/667 sq m, with row sowing at a row spacing of 20-25 cm and a soil covering thickness of 1-2 cm; for Ephedra przewalskii it must not exceed 1 cm. After sowing, cover with plastic film. One-year-old seedlings are 15-25 cm tall. The seedling emergence is 250,000-400,000 plants/667 sq m. For transplanting, the plant and row spacing is 15-20 cm × 30-40 cm, with a density of 10,000-15,000 plants/667 sq m.
It can also be propagated by cuttings and by division.
Afforestation methods
For planting seedlings for afforestation, the plant and row spacing is 1 m × 2 m. It can also be established by division.
Harvesting methods
Artificially planted Ephedra can be harvested at 3 years of age, and the best harvest period is August-September. Harvesting Ephedra should mainly involve cutting the aboveground branches, and digging up the underground parts should be avoided; this can ensure the purity of the raw material and also promote tillering of Ephedra, increasing biomass. After the first cutting, it generally needs to grow for two years before the second cutting, otherwise the branches are young and tender, the accumulation of active ingredients is low, and the medicinal effect is affected. However, as an industrial raw material, it can be cut once each year.