Mormon tea is a mild, faintly astringent drink brewed from the bare green stems of desert shrubs that grow across the American Southwest. The honest summary of Mormon tea plant health benefits is short: people have brewed it for generations for colds, congestion and kidney complaints, it seems to be well tolerated as an ordinary beverage, and almost none of those traditional uses have ever been tested in humans.
There is one more thing to settle before anything else, because most pages about this plant get it wrong. Mormon tea is not ma huang, and it does not contain ephedrine.
The ephedra mix-up behind most Mormon tea articles
Search this plant and you will find articles describing ephedrine, dilated pupils, raised blood pressure, relaxed bronchial muscles and asthma relief. Those effects are real. They belong to a different shrub.
Ephedra sinica — ma huang — is an Asian species genuinely rich in ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, alkaloids that stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. Mormon tea comes from North American species, chiefly Ephedra viridis and Ephedra nevadensis [WebMD]. Same genus, different chemistry.
Three independent sources say so plainly:
- The FDA, in the 2004 rule that removed ephedrine-alkaloid supplements from the market: “Most North American species of Ephedra (e.g., Mormon tea) do not contain ephedrine alkaloids” [FDA, 2004].
- The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: “North American ephedra species, such as E. nevadensis (known as Mormon tea), contain little or no ephedrine or other alkaloids” [NIH ODS, 2004].
- A chemical survey of the genus worldwide, sampling species across both hemispheres: “ephedrine alkaloids are not detectable in New World species of Ephedra” [Caveney et al., 2001].
So any benefit that depends on ephedrine — opening airways, blunting appetite, lifting energy — does not carry over to the cup in front of you. What the New World species do accumulate is a different group of compounds, including kynurenates and unusual cyclopropyl amino acids, whose effects in people have not been worked out [Caveney et al., 2001].
Not every reference agrees, and the disagreement is worth naming. The Plants For A Future database, writing at the level of the whole genus, states that the stems of most members of Ephedra contain ephedrine [PFAF]. That kind of genus-wide generalisation is where much of the confusion starts. Where a broad description of a genus meets direct chemical analysis of the individual species, the species-level data should win.
What the Mormon tea plant actually is
Mormon tea is a gymnosperm — closer kin to pines than to any flowering plant. It produces cones rather than flowers, and the genus is old enough that its fossils reach back roughly 125 million years [Mitton, 2023]. The shrub looks almost leafless because its slim green stems do the photosynthesis; the leaves have shrunk to tiny scales.
A mature Ephedra viridis is a scraggly, dioecious shrub of about 60 to 150 cm, built from an intricate network of brittle, bright green branches. Its scale leaves run 2 to 3 mm with dark brown bases, male plants push out clusters of yellow pollen in mid to late April, and the boat-shaped seeds are 5 to 7 mm long [USDA NRCS]. It grows on dry, rocky slopes and canyon walls between roughly 3,000 and 7,500 feet, from the California deserts north along the eastern Sierra to south-eastern Oregon and east into Arizona and south-western Colorado [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center].
| Mormon tea at a glance | |
| Botanical names | Ephedra viridis (green ephedra) and Ephedra nevadensis (Nevada ephedra) [WebMD] |
| Family | Ephedraceae — a gymnosperm family, not a flowering plant [Mitton, 2023] |
| Other names | Brigham tea, Brigham Young weed, desert tea, teamster’s tea, Nevada joint-fir. Older herbals also use “squaw tea”; that term is now widely considered a slur and is best retired. |
| Native range | South-western United States: California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, western Colorado, south-eastern Oregon, south-western Wyoming [USDA NRCS; LBJWC] |
| Habitat | Dry rocky or sandy slopes and plains, roughly 3,000–7,500 ft [USDA NRCS; LBJWC] |
| Part used | The slender green stems and twigs [USDA NRCS] |
| Key compounds | Tannins [RxList]; kynurenates and cyclopropyl amino acids [Caveney et al., 2001]. No detectable ephedrine alkaloids [FDA, 2004; NIH ODS, 2004; Caveney et al., 2001] |
| Caffeine | None — settlers steeped the dried stems precisely because it made a caffeine-free hot drink [Mitton, 2023] |
Mormon tea plant health benefits: what the evidence supports
No clinical trial has tested Mormon tea for any health condition. What exists instead is a long ethnobotanical record and one plausible chemical mechanism. That is worth something. It is not the same as proof, and the difference matters when you are deciding whether to drink a cup or to rely on it.
Traditional uses: long record, almost no testing
Native peoples across the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau made an aromatic tea by boiling the slender twigs, and used it as a tonic and blood purifier, for kidney and bladder disorders, for menstrual problems and for backache [USDA NRCS]. Ephedra tea was also used to relieve congestion [Mitton, 2023]. Later consumer references record much the same list — colds, coughs, fever, and kidney and urinary complaints — while stating that “the benefits are not well defined” and that “evidence in humans is limited” [WebMD].
If the urinary side of that history is what brings you here, our guide to herbal remedies for the urinary system covers the plants in that category that have actually been studied.
One historical use deserves a blunt correction rather than a respectful nod. Ephedra was promoted in nineteenth-century North America for venereal disease, and the chemists who surveyed the genus describe those as “treatments of questionable efficacy” [Caveney et al., 2001]. Syphilis and gonorrhoea are bacterial infections that require antibiotics. Untreated syphilis goes on to damage the heart and nervous system years later. No tea does this job, and delay here causes real harm.
What the tannins plausibly do
The one mechanism with a clear rationale is astringency. “The tannins in Mormon tea have a drying (astringent) effect and can reduce body secretions such as mucus” [RxList]. Anyone who has drunk strong black tea or bitten an unripe persimmon knows the sensation.
That is a mechanism, not an outcome. Nobody has measured whether it makes a stuffy nose measurably better, or by how much, or for how long. Treat it as a reasonable explanation for why generations of people found the drink soothing, not as a demonstrated effect.
The part that most likely does help
A hot, hydrating, caffeine-free drink is genuinely comforting when you are unwell, and that is not a small thing — it is most of what any herbal tea reliably delivers. Warm fluids, rest and time do the work while a viral infection runs its course. Our piece on foods to eat when you’re sick with bronchitis takes the same approach to the rest of the sickbed diet.
What Mormon tea will not do
This is where the ephedrine confusion causes the most trouble, so each of these is worth saying directly.
- It will not treat asthma. Ephedrine is a bronchodilator; Mormon tea has none. Asthma is managed with prescribed quick-relief and controller medicines and an action plan, and an attack that does not respond to those medicines is an emergency [NHLBI]. For the respiratory herbs that do have some evidence behind them, see our review of herbs for the lungs.
- It will not drive weight loss. The often-quoted figure — ephedrine plus caffeine producing about 2.2 pounds per month more weight loss than placebo, for up to four months, with no long-term data at all — belongs to ephedrine, not to this plant. Those same trials found two to three times the rate of nausea, vomiting, palpitations, anxiety and mood change [NIH ODS, 2004].
- It will not stop hay fever or hives. The antihistamine-style claims attached to ephedra in older herbals trace back to ephedrine’s sympathomimetic action. Our guide to preventing allergies covers what actually reduces symptoms.
- It will not raise your blood pressure the way ma huang does — and it will not lower it either. There is no evidence that Mormon tea treats hypertension. If that is your goal, the dietary patterns that lower blood pressure have far better support.
Evidence at a glance
| Claim | Evidence grade | What that means |
| Contains no ephedrine alkaloids | Strong | Stated by the FDA and NIH ODS and confirmed by direct chemical analysis of New World Ephedra species [FDA, 2004; NIH ODS, 2004; Caveney et al., 2001] |
| Contains tannins with an astringent, secretion-drying effect | Plausible mechanism, untested outcome | The chemistry is reported in consumer drug databases [RxList]; no human trial has measured whether it relieves congestion |
| Traditional use for colds, kidney and bladder complaints, menstrual pain, backache | Traditional / ethnobotanical | Well documented as historical practice [USDA NRCS; WebMD; Mitton, 2023]; not evaluated in clinical research |
| Treats asthma or allergies | Not supported | The claim is imported from ephedrine-containing Asian species [NIH ODS, 2004; MSKCC] |
| Aids weight loss or athletic performance | Not supported | The weight-loss data concern ephedrine plus caffeine, not this plant, and even there no long-term studies exist [NIH ODS, 2004] |
| Treats syphilis, gonorrhoea or any infection | Not supported, and unsafe to rely on | Described in the literature as historical use “of questionable efficacy” [Caveney et al., 2001] |
| Safe as an occasional beverage in ordinary amounts | Limited but reassuring | Consumer safety references describe beverage amounts as apparently well tolerated while noting the human evidence is thin [WebMD; RxList] |
How Mormon tea is prepared
The traditional method is simple: boil the slender green twigs to make an aromatic tea [USDA NRCS]. Young twigs give the better result, and roasting them before steeping darkens the brew and deepens the flavour — faintly sweet, green, with a light pine note [PFAF].
There is no established medicinal dose. WebMD’s monograph declines to give one and simply points you to product labelling [WebMD], which is itself a useful signal: nobody has determined what an effective amount would even be. The sensible reading is to treat Mormon tea as a beverage rather than a remedy — a cup when you want one, not a concentrated daily decoction taken for a condition.
Two small cautions from the foraging literature: avoid inflated twigs, which indicate infestation, and do not treat the immature seeds as food, since they can be intensely acrid and burn the throat [PFAF].
Safety, side effects and interactions
The reassuring part first: with no ephedrine in it, Mormon tea carries none of the cardiovascular risk that got ephedra supplements banned. The cautions that remain are milder, but they are not nothing.
Side effects people report
Stomach upset, nausea and constipation are the commonly reported effects, and as with any plant, allergic reactions are possible — trouble breathing, swelling or a rash mean stop and get help [WebMD].
One consumer database also lists kidney damage, liver damage and nose or throat cancer among possible effects [RxList]. That deserves context rather than repetition. No human study of Mormon tea has established any of those outcomes; the concern appears to be extrapolated from heavy, sustained tannin exposure in general. Read it as a reason to keep your intake casual rather than to drink strong medicinal amounts every day, not as a documented hazard of an occasional cup.
Medication interactions
Here the two main consumer references genuinely disagree, and you should know that. RxList rates a moderate interaction with oral medications, on the basis that the tannins can reduce how much drug your body absorbs, and advises separating the tea from any oral medicine by at least an hour [RxList]. WebMD, covering the same plant, says there are no known interactions with foods or drinks and that drug interactions are simply not fully understood [WebMD].
Neither position rests on a trial in people. The one-hour gap costs you nothing and covers the plausible risk, so it is the reasonable default if you take any regular medication.
The same astringent chemistry has a nutritional angle. Polyphenols are established inhibitors of non-heme iron absorption — the form of iron found in plant foods and in most supplements [NIH ODS Iron]. If you are pregnant, have heavy periods, donate blood frequently or have been told your iron is low, drink the tea between meals rather than with them.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
The references stop short of clearing it. RxList describes food amounts as apparently safe in pregnancy while advising that larger medicinal amounts be avoided [RxList]. WebMD is more cautious still: “It is not known if or how Mormon tea could affect pregnancy or harm a fetus” [WebMD]. Nothing useful exists on breastfeeding, which means it is unstudied rather than cleared.
The practical version: an occasional cup is unlikely to be a problem, medicinal amounts are not worth the unknown, and it is worth mentioning to your obstetric clinician alongside anything else you are taking.
Who should be careful or skip it
- Anyone pregnant or breastfeeding, beyond an occasional casual cup [RxList; WebMD]
- Anyone with iron deficiency or anaemia — separate the tea from meals and iron supplements [NIH ODS Iron]
- Anyone taking regular oral medication — allow at least an hour either side [RxList]
- Anyone with existing kidney or liver disease, until a clinician who knows your case says otherwise
- Children, for whom no dosing or safety data exists at all
- Anyone who cannot confirm what species is actually in the bag — see below
The bigger risk is the label, not the plant
The FDA flagged this directly. The names “desert herb, squaw tea, Brigham tea, and Mormon tea refer to North American species of Ephedra that do not contain ephedrine alkaloids but have been misused to identify ephedrine alkaloid containing ingredients” [FDA, 2004]. In other words, the friendly name has been used to sell the stimulant plant.
That matters because the stimulant species are a different safety proposition entirely. Memorial Sloan Kettering’s monograph on ephedra — covering Ephedra sinica and Ephedra equisetina, and making no mention of Mormon tea — lists heart attack, stroke, seizures, cardiomyopathy, psychosis and death among reported adverse effects, along with interactions involving stimulants, MAO inhibitors, theophylline and digoxin, and contraindications in hypertension, heart disease, anxiety, glaucoma, prostate enlargement, hyperthyroidism and pregnancy [MSKCC]. The FDA declared supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids adulterated and unreasonably risky, effective April 2004 [FDA, 2004].
So buy plain dried stems with the species named on the packet, from a seller who can tell you where it was harvested. Be sceptical of anything marketed for energy, appetite suppression or workout performance, whatever the picture on the front suggests — those are ephedrine promises, and a plant without ephedrine cannot keep them.
When to stop drinking tea and call someone
Herbal tea is for comfort while something minor resolves. These are the situations where it is the wrong tool:
- An asthma attack that is not responding. Chest tightness, wheezing, breathing that feels like sucking air through a straw. Call 9-1-1 if your medicines are not relieving symptoms or breathing is still very hard; in a young child, drowsiness, confusion, a blue tint to the lips or a racing heartbeat are emergency signs [NHLBI].
- Urinary symptoms with fever. Burning on urination, urgency, cloudy or bloody urine point to a bladder infection; fever and chills, nausea or vomiting, or pain in the back, side or groin suggest the kidneys are involved and need treating early [NIDDK].
- A cough that is not improving after about three weeks, or one that brings up blood — that needs assessment, not more tea.
- Any sign of an allergic reaction: difficulty breathing, swelling of the face or throat, or a spreading rash [WebMD].
- Any symptom you were planning to treat with a herb instead of getting looked at. That is the pattern that causes harm, far more often than the herb itself.
| HEALTH DISCLAIMER: This article is for general education and information. It is not medical advice, and it is not a substitute for diagnosis or treatment from a qualified healthcare professional. Mormon tea has not been evaluated in clinical trials for any health condition, and nothing here should be used to delay or replace care for a real symptom. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, take prescription medication, or have an existing kidney, liver, heart or respiratory condition, speak to your doctor or pharmacist before drinking Mormon tea regularly. Do not use any herbal preparation to treat an infection, an asthma attack, or a symptom that is getting worse. Seek urgent care for the red-flag signs listed above. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Mormon tea contain ephedrine?
No. The FDA states that most North American Ephedra species, Mormon tea among them, do not contain ephedrine alkaloids [FDA, 2004], the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements says the same of Ephedra nevadensis [NIH ODS, 2004], and a chemical survey of the genus found ephedrine alkaloids undetectable in New World species [Caveney et al., 2001]. Products labelled “ephedra” are a different matter — the FDA specifically warned that Mormon tea’s other names have been misused on ephedrine-containing ingredients.
Is Mormon tea the same as ma huang?
No, though they are relatives. Ma huang is Ephedra sinica, an Asian species rich in ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. Mormon tea is Ephedra viridis or Ephedra nevadensis from the American Southwest [WebMD]. Almost every claim you will read about Mormon tea treating asthma or boosting energy has been copied across from the Asian plant.
Does Mormon tea have caffeine?
No. Settlers steeped the dried stems precisely because it produced a caffeine-free hot drink [Mitton, 2023]. It is not related to true tea, Camellia sinensis, at all.
Is it safe to drink Mormon tea every day?
Beverage amounts appear to be well tolerated, but the human evidence is thin and nobody has studied long-term daily use [WebMD; RxList]. If you drink it often, keep it away from meals and any oral medication by about an hour, and mention it to your doctor if you are pregnant, low in iron, or managing a kidney or liver condition.
Will Mormon tea help my cold or congestion?
It may feel soothing, and its tannins have a drying, astringent effect that could plausibly reduce mucus [RxList] — but that mechanism has never been tested as a treatment. Much of the benefit is likely the same one you get from any warm fluid. It is a comfort, not a decongestant.
References
- Food and Drug Administration. Final Rule Declaring Dietary Supplements Containing Ephedrine Alkaloids Adulterated Because They Present an Unreasonable Risk. 69 FR 6788, 11 February 2004. View source
- National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Ephedra and Ephedrine Alkaloids for Weight Loss and Athletic Performance — Health Professional Fact Sheet. Updated 1 July 2004. View source
- Caveney S, Charlet DA, Freitag H, Maier-Stolte M, Starratt AN. New observations on the secondary chemistry of world Ephedra (Ephedraceae). American Journal of Botany. 2001;88(7):1199–1208. PMID 11454619. View source
- USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Plant Guide: Green Ephedra (Ephedra viridis Cov.). National Plant Data Center & Tucson Plant Materials Center. View source
- Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin. Native Plant Database: Ephedra viridis (Mormon tea). View source
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. About Herbs: Ephedra. View source
- National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Iron — Health Professional Fact Sheet. Updated 4 September 2025. View source
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Asthma — Asthma Attack. View source
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Symptoms & Causes of Bladder Infection in Adults. View source
- Mitton J. Mormon tea has no flowers or leaves but lots of history. Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine, University of Colorado Boulder, 3 March 2023. View source
- WebMD. Mormon Tea: Overview, Uses, Side Effects, Precautions, Interactions, Dosing and Reviews. View source
- RxList. Mormon Tea: Health Benefits, Side Effects, Uses, Dose & Precautions. View source
- Plants For A Future. Ephedra viridis. View source
