Mormon's Tea is a plant most gardeners in zones 4-9 should grow. It is a very ornamental plant with foliage resembling the horsetail plant. It is easy to care for and grows in most soils.
It makes a nice tasting tea with a somewhat astringent flavor, the dried branches are boiled in water to make the tea. People use it as a beverage and as a herbal medicine.
Be careful not to confuse Mormon tea (Ephedra nevadensis) with ephedra (Ephedra sinica and other ephedra species). Unlike these other plants, Mormon tea does not contain ephedrine ( or only slight traces ).
The Mexicans call this herb by the name popotillo, while the early European settlers in America called it by several other names, such as Mormon tea, teamster's tea and Brigham tea. There was a time when this herb was an extremely favourite conventional medication for treating sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis and gonorrhoea.
However, this herb has a somewhat astringent flavour, but people who have a preference for it or have become habituated to it, like this herb and take it in the form of a pleasingly reinvigorating drink. The herb has probably got its name Mormon tea from its use in the form of a caffeine free beverage that quenches thirst.

We recommend you research more on this herb by visiting sites like WebMD/Mormons Tea and Herbs2000/Mormons Tea, there are also many other sites on the web with useful info on this herb.

Green Mormon Tea (Ephedra viridis), also known as Green Ephedra or Indian Tea, is a distinctive evergreen shrub native to the dry mountains, deserts, and high plateaus of the western United States. Rather than conventional broad leaves, the plant produces numerous slender, jointed, bright green stems that perform most of the plant's photosynthesis, giving mature specimens an unusual airy, architectural appearance. Plants generally grow about 2 to 5 feet tall and wide, remaining attractive throughout the year and blending beautifully with rocks, native grasses, yuccas, agaves, and other drought-tolerant plants.

This exceptionally tough native is well adapted to full sun, low humidity, poor soils, and extended periods of drought. Green Mormon Tea is an excellent choice for xeriscapes, rock gardens, native plantings, erosion control, wildlife gardens, and difficult dry areas where many conventional shrubs struggle. It generally performs well in USDA Zones 4-9 when provided excellent drainage and should not be overwatered once established. Plants are normally male or female, so both sexes are needed if seed production is desired. The small reproductive cones are followed on female plants by conspicuous paired seeds surrounded by papery bracts.

Seeds benefit from approximately 30-60 days of cold, moist stratification and may then be sown about ¼ inch deep in a very well-drained medium. Keep seedlings lightly moist during establishment, gradually allowing the soil to become drier as the plants develop.

Seedman Notes: The common name Mormon Tea reflects the historical use of several western Ephedra species for brewed herbal drinks by Indigenous peoples and later settlers of the American West. This species should not be confused with Asian ephedras historically associated with concentrated ephedrine preparations, and medicinal use should not be inferred from the common name. For the landscape, its real attraction is its remarkable durability: Green Mormon Tea provides year-round green structure with very little water and looks completely at home in rugged Western and desert-style gardens.