Subject: Re: Where would i look for...

From: Shehrebanoo Malik <banoo>
Date: 6 Jun 1996 17:49:58 GMT

Would you know if there are any Ephedra, Gnetum, or Welwitschia on
your campus?  How else could I find out?  I need some preserved
clippings.

Banoo Malik

[email-masked]

---

From: Conehead the Barbarian <[email-masked]>
Date: 10 Jun 1996 17:01:36 GMT

>Nearly all nurseries in the lower Rio Grande Valley (Brownsville, etc.)
>of Texas sell Metasequoia.  I've not seen it for sale elsewhere; we
>wanted to buy one on our last visit, but weren't sure how they'd do in
>Austin.

   Metasequoia does fine here in Houston, and most of the larger 
nurseries carry it, at least some of the time (such as Tea's Nursery).  I 
would not think Austin would be that much more difficult (a little dryer 
and and a little colder in winter, right?)

---

From: [email-masked] (m.lee)
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 1996 02:39:38 GMT

Shehrebanoo Malik (banoo) wrote:
: Would you know if there are any Ephedra, Gnetum, or Welwitschia on
: your campus?  How else could I find out?  I need some preserved
: clippings.

: Banoo Malik

: [email-masked]

If there are, they'll be in greenhouses up there - contact any of the
schools that have herbariums.  You may also find Ephedra sold as herbal
tea - it was called "Mormon Tea" in the Southwest. 

ml

---

From: [email-masked] (Ben Waggoner)
Date: 15 Jun 1996 22:47:59 GMT

m.lee ([email-masked]) wrote:
: Shehrebanoo Malik (banoo) wrote:
: : Would you know if there are any Ephedra, Gnetum, or Welwitschia on
: : your campus?  How else could I find out?  I need some preserved
: : clippings.

: : Banoo Malik

: If there are, they'll be in greenhouses up there - contact any of the
: schools that have herbariums.  You may also find Ephedra sold as herbal
: tea - it was called "Mormon Tea" in the Southwest. 

I'm not sure whose campus Mr. Malik was referring to. . . _Ephedra_ grows
wild out in the Great Basin -- which is where I'm headed next week, so if
you want samples of that, e-mail me soon. It's not a terribly distinctive
plant, and I've never tried making tea from it, but I was told that if you
make tea from the wrong parts of the plant you can poison yourself. [The
plant's active ingredient, ephedrine, is close to pseudephedrine, sold in
this country as the decongestant Sudafed. Supposedly _Ephedra_ tea is more
potent than caffeine. I guess there are compensations for being a Mormon!]
B)

I know that the UC-Berkeley Botanical Garden grows all three genera --
seen 'em myself -- but you'd have to ask them about obtaining cuttings.
I can't very well go up there and pluck you some leaves, that wouldn't be
nice, now would it? So drop me an e-mail if you want their address.

--
Ben Waggoner
Department of Integrative Biology
Director, Center for the Annihilation of Conrad by Academia (CACA)
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
[email-masked]