You are quite right, Robert. The drug ephedrine, which is classified as a central nervous system stimulant, is derived from an Asiatic species of Ephedra. Here's a description I got off the net: "Ephedra, also known by its Chinese name, Ma-huang, for Asian sourced material, and as Mormon tea or Brigham tea for Ephedras harvested in the southwest deserts of the United States, has been in the news of late. Mahuang is first mentioned in the classic Chinese herbal of the Divine Plowman Emperor, Shen-Nong's Ben Cao Jing, which survives as a list of 365 herbs from the first century A.D., and is the basis of the modern Chinese materia medica. "Under the tenets of Traditional Chinese Medicine its taste and nature are hot, bitter, and warming. Its functions are to induce sweat, soothe breath, and promote the excretion of urine. It is traditionally prescribed for typhoid fever, bad colds, fevers without sweat, pain over the body, pain in the joints, coughing, shortness of breath and swelling of the ankles. "Ma-huang has been used for over 2,000 years to treat bronchial asthma cold and flu, chills, lack of perspiration, headache, nasal congestion, aching joints and bones, cough and wheezing and edema. In Western terms, ma-huang is considered to have diaphoretic, diuretic, central nervous system stimulating and antiasthmatic activity. The stem (herb) of ephedra contains a number of active compounds, including small amounts of an essential oil, and most important, one to two percent alkaloids composed mainly of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, with ephedrine ranging from 30 to 90 percent depending on the source." I would think that the diuretic effects of ephedra would preclude any one from drinking too much of it =:-o Tschüss __________________________________________________________ Diane Epperson --from sunny Ocotillo in the flaming Yuha Desert of Southern California editorz@inreach.com "Eala Fria Fresena!" -- "Lever Dod As Slaav!" Researching . . . FLESNER, EBER, BUSS, ELLERMEIER of Illinois aus Deutschland LEWIS, COLEMAN, HART of New Jersey ANDERSEN, EDMISTON, SNOW of Utah . . . und mein rottweiler WORF (Canis klingon) ---------- : From: Robert Speakman <rlsdoc@pol.net> : To: HANDCART-L@rootsweb.com : Subject: Re: [HANDCART-L] Mormon tea : Date: Wednesday, June 17, 1998 4:29 PM : : Very interesting--I wonder if the pioneers recognized that this tea--if it did come from Ephedra--is a stimulant. Perhaps the pick-me-up theyy may have gotten from it would have been more of a reason to drink it than just for the taste. It would make sense also, if they were trying to give up their [caffeine] tea, to find a substitute that maybe unknowingly relieved the caffeine craving. : : All conjecture and speculation, of course! I would love it if anyone could find other sources or references to this Ephedra plant use. : : Tschuss! (I presume Diane must be German/Swiss--how do get umlauts on your keyboard?) : : Robert