Tamarix ramosissima

Tamarix ramosissima, commonly known as saltcedar[1] or salt cedar, is a deciduous arching shrub with reddish stems, feathery, pale green foliage, and characteristic small pink flowers.

Tamarix ramosissima
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Tamaricaceae
Genus: Tamarix
Species:
T. ramosissima
Binomial name
Tamarix ramosissima

Description

Tamarix ramossissima at Villeurbanne, France

Tamarix ramosissima is a hardy shrub or small tree native to Europe and Asia. It is a vigorous, deciduous shrub grown for its ornamental reddish stems, its showy plumes of flowers, and its unusual feathery leaves. Its hardiness and tolerance for poor soil make it a popular, easy to grow shrub. It can grow up to 8 m in height and up to 5 m in width. It can be used as a screen, windbreak, informal hedge or specimen shrub.[2]

It produces upright racemes of small, pink, five-petaled flowers from late summer to early autumn which cover the new wood of the plant. It is tolerant of many soil types, but prefers a well-drained, light or sandy soil in full sun. This plant is considered an invasive species in warmer climates.[2]

Invasive species

Tamarix ramosissima is a major invasive plant species in the Southwestern United States and Desert Region of California, consuming large amounts of groundwater in riparian and oases habitats.[2] The balance and strength of the native flora and fauna are being helped by various restoration projects, by removing tamarisk groves as if they were noxious weeds.[3]

Salt

The plant's common name refers to its ability to tolerate salt water[4] by excreting salt into its leaves through specialized salt glands — thereby producing salt deposits which kill other species;[5] these salt deposits can also weaken interatomic binding in soil clays, leading to increased erosion.[4]


Further reading

gollark: ↑ someone with bees
gollark: https://tenor.com/view/lol-bees-cgp-grery-gif-14896640
gollark: BODMAS/PEMDAS/whatever bad, RPN good.
gollark: Huh. Apparently ↉ is the *only* 0/whatever fraction symbol.
gollark: Oops.

References

  1. "saltcedar". Invasive Plant Atlas. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  2. Zouhar, Kris. 2003. Tamarix spp. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.
  3. Afton Canyon Riparian Restoration Project Fourth Year Status Report. Archived 2015-12-06 at the Wayback Machine Bureau of Land Management. accessed 6/20/2010
  4. Which came first, the salt or the saltcedar? A quantitative study of soil and groundwater chemistry along the Middle Rio Grande, New Mexico, by Michelle Cederborg, at the Colorado Riparian Association; published April 20, 2008; retrieved April 24, 2019
  5. Invasive Weeds - Salt Cedar, at the USDA Forest Service; retrieved April 24, 2019


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