Hi, all. Plant Select recommends the Chinese shrub called ma huang or
blue joint-fir, Ephedra equisetina, for us Westerners. (I'm in New
Mexico.) Bluish leafless stems, yellow flowers in spring, red berries
in summer (maybe only if you have a female plant), extremely
drought-tolerant. Strangely enough, I can't find plants at local
nurseries or on the Web. Does anyone know where you can buy it?

Does anyone know why it's so hard to find? I'm getting paranoid enough
to wonder whether it's because of the FDA ban on the stimulant
ephedrine, which E. equisetina seems to be the best source of.

--
Jerry Friedman