Tamarix
Encyclopedia
The genus Tamarix is composed of about 50-60 species of flowering plant
s in the family Tamaricaceae
, native to drier areas of Eurasia
and Africa
. The generic name originated in Latin
and may have referred to the Tamaris River in Hispania Tarraconensis
(Spain
).
or deciduous
shrub
s or tree
s growing to 1–18 m in height and forming dense thickets. The largest, Tamarix aphylla
, is an evergreen
tree that can grow to 18 m tall. They usually grow on saline soils, tolerating up to 15,000 ppm soluble salt
and can also tolerate alkali conditions.
Tamarisks are characterized by slender branches and grey-green foliage. The bark of young branches is smooth and reddish-brown. As the plants age, the bark becomes bluish-purple, ridged and furrowed. The leaves
are scale-like, 1–2 mm long, and overlap each other along the stem. They are often encrusted with salt secretions. The pink to white flower
s appear in dense masses
on 5–10 cm long spikes at branch tips from March to September, though some species (e.g. T. aphylla) tend to flower during the winter.
, by adventitious roots or submerged stems, and sexually, by seed
s. Each flower can produce thousands of tiny (1 mm diameter) seeds that are contained in a small capsule usually adorned with a tuft of hair that aids in wind dispersal. Seeds can also be dispersed by water. Seedlings require extended periods of soil saturation for establishment.
Tamarix species are fire-adapted, and have long tap roots that allow them to intercept deep water table
s and exploit natural water resources
. They are able to limit competition from other plants by taking up salt from deep ground water, accumulating it in their foliage, and from there depositing it in the surface soil where it builds up concentrations temporarily detrimental to some plants. The salt is washed away during heavy rains. Tamarix trees are most often propagated by cuttings.
Tamarix species are used as food plants by the larva
e of some Lepidoptera
species including Coleophora asthenella
which feeds exclusively on T. africana.
as an ornamental
shrub, a windbreak
, and a shade tree in the early 19th century. In the 1930s, during the Great Depression
, tree-planting was used as a tool to fight soil erosion
on the Great Plains
, and the trees were planted by the millions in the Great Plains Shelterbelt
.
Eight species are found in North America. They can be divided into two sub-groups:
Evergreen species
The Tamarix aphylla
(Athel tree), a large evergreen tree, does not sexually reproduce in the local climate and is not considered a seriously invasive species. The Athel tree is commonly used for windbreaks on the edge of agricultural fields
and as a shade tree in the deserts of the Southwestern United States
.
Deciduous species
These deciduous trees establish themselves in disturbed and undisturbed streams, waterways, bottom lands, banks and drainage washes of natural or artificial water bodies, moist rangelands and pastures, and other areas where seedlings can be exposed to extended periods of saturated soil for establishment.
has used physically removing the plants, spraying them with herbicide
s, and introducing northern tamarisk beetles (Diorhabda carinulata
) in the National Park System. This has been done in the Dinosaur National Monument
in Utah and Colorado along the Green and Yampa Rivers, during the summers of 2006 and 2007. After years of study, the USDA Agricultural Research Service
has found that the tamarisk beetles eat only the tamarisk, and starve when there is no more tamarisk available. No other native North American plants have been found to be eaten by the introduced tamarisk beetle. Progress is slow, but proves that containment of the tamarisk is possible in the long term.
has naturalized and become a major invasive plant species
in parts of the world, such as in the Southwestern United States
and Desert Region of California
, consuming large amounts of groundwater in riparian and oases habitats. The balance and strength of the native flora and fauna is being helped by various restoration projects, by removing, like tall woody noxious weeds, Tamarix groves.
". He had built a well there, earlier.
In the Quran 34:16, the people of Saba were punished when "[Allah] converted their two garden (rows) into gardens producing bitter fruit and tamarisks [...]"
In Egyptian Mythology
, the body of Osiris
is hidden for a time in a tamarisk tree in Byblos
, until it was retrieved by Isis
. A reference to this is also made in the computer game, Age of Mythology
, where the head of Osiris
is said to be hidden inside the trunk of a great tamarisk tree.
Wedgwood
made a “Tamarisk” China pattern.
According to the New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, the tamarisk plant is a favorite of the Greek god Apollo
.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the family Tamaricaceae
Tamaricaceae
Tamaricaceae is a flowering plant family containing four genera. In the 1980s, the family was classified in the Violales under the Cronquist system; more modern classifications place them in the Caryophyllales.The family is native to drier areas of Europe, Asia and Africa...
, native to drier areas of Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. The generic name originated in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and may have referred to the Tamaris River in Hispania Tarraconensis
Hispania Tarraconensis
Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the Mediterranean coast of Spain along with the central plateau. Southern Spain, the region now called Andalusia, was the province of Hispania Baetica...
(Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
).
Description
They are evergreenEvergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
or deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s or tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s growing to 1–18 m in height and forming dense thickets. The largest, Tamarix aphylla
Tamarix aphylla
Tamarix aphylla is the largest known species of Tamarix . The species has a variety of common names, including Athel pine, Athel tree, Athel tamarisk, and saltcedar...
, is an evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
tree that can grow to 18 m tall. They usually grow on saline soils, tolerating up to 15,000 ppm soluble salt
Sodium chloride
Sodium chloride, also known as salt, common salt, table salt or halite, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaCl. Sodium chloride is the salt most responsible for the salinity of the ocean and of the extracellular fluid of many multicellular organisms...
and can also tolerate alkali conditions.
Tamarisks are characterized by slender branches and grey-green foliage. The bark of young branches is smooth and reddish-brown. As the plants age, the bark becomes bluish-purple, ridged and furrowed. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are scale-like, 1–2 mm long, and overlap each other along the stem. They are often encrusted with salt secretions. The pink to white flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s appear in dense masses
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
on 5–10 cm long spikes at branch tips from March to September, though some species (e.g. T. aphylla) tend to flower during the winter.
Reproduction
Tamarix can spread both vegetativelyVegetative reproduction
Vegetative reproduction is a form of asexual reproduction in plants. It is a process by which new individuals arise without production of seeds or spores...
, by adventitious roots or submerged stems, and sexually, by seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s. Each flower can produce thousands of tiny (1 mm diameter) seeds that are contained in a small capsule usually adorned with a tuft of hair that aids in wind dispersal. Seeds can also be dispersed by water. Seedlings require extended periods of soil saturation for establishment.
Tamarix species are fire-adapted, and have long tap roots that allow them to intercept deep water table
Water table
The water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...
s and exploit natural water resources
Hydrology
Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability...
. They are able to limit competition from other plants by taking up salt from deep ground water, accumulating it in their foliage, and from there depositing it in the surface soil where it builds up concentrations temporarily detrimental to some plants. The salt is washed away during heavy rains. Tamarix trees are most often propagated by cuttings.
Tamarix species are used as food plants by the larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
species including Coleophora asthenella
Coleophora
Coleophora is a very large genus of moths of the family Coleophoridae. It contains some 1,350 described species. The genus is represented on all continents, but the majority are found in the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions...
which feeds exclusively on T. africana.
Selected species
|
Formerly placed here
- Myricaria germanica (L.) Desv. (as T. germanica L.)
Tamarix in North America
The Tamarix was introduced to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as an ornamental
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
shrub, a windbreak
Windbreak
A windbreak or shelterbelt is a plantation usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted around the edges of fields on farms. If designed properly, windbreaks around a...
, and a shade tree in the early 19th century. In the 1930s, during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, tree-planting was used as a tool to fight soil erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
on the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
, and the trees were planted by the millions in the Great Plains Shelterbelt
Great Plains Shelterbelt
The Great Plains Shelterbelt was a project to create windbreaks in the Great Plains states of the United States, and was launched in 1934. President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated the project in response to the severe dust storms of the Dust Bowl, which resulted in significant soil erosion and...
.
Eight species are found in North America. They can be divided into two sub-groups:
Evergreen species
The Tamarix aphylla
Tamarix aphylla
Tamarix aphylla is the largest known species of Tamarix . The species has a variety of common names, including Athel pine, Athel tree, Athel tamarisk, and saltcedar...
(Athel tree), a large evergreen tree, does not sexually reproduce in the local climate and is not considered a seriously invasive species. The Athel tree is commonly used for windbreaks on the edge of agricultural fields
Field (agriculture)
In agriculture, the word field refers generally to an area of land enclosed or otherwise and used for agricultural purposes such as:* Cultivating crops* Usage as a paddock or, generally, an enclosure of livestock...
and as a shade tree in the deserts of the Southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
.
Deciduous species
- The second sub-group contains the deciduous tamarisks, which are small shrubby trees, commonly known as "saltcedars." These include Tamarix pentandra, Tamarix tetranda, Tamarix gallicaTamarix gallicaTamarix gallica, the French Tamarisk, is a deciduous, herbaceous, twiggy shrub or small tree reaching up to about 5 meters high. It is indigenous to Saudi Arabia and the Sinai Peninsula, and very common around the Mediterranean region. It is present in many other areas as an invasive introduced...
, Tamarix chinensisTamarix chinensisTamarix chinensis is a species of tamarisk known by the common names Chinese tamarisk and five-stamen tamarisk or saltcedar. It is native to China and Korea, and it is known in many other parts of the world as an introduced species and sometimes an invasive noxious weed. It easily inhabits moist...
, Tamarix ramosissimaTamarix ramosissimaTamarix ramosissima, commonly known as Saltcedar, is a deciduous arching shrub with reddish stems and feathery, pale green foliage.-Description:...
, and Tamarix parvifolia.
These deciduous trees establish themselves in disturbed and undisturbed streams, waterways, bottom lands, banks and drainage washes of natural or artificial water bodies, moist rangelands and pastures, and other areas where seedlings can be exposed to extended periods of saturated soil for establishment.
Invasive species
It is commonly believed that Tamarix disrupts the structure and stability of North American native plant communities and degrades native wildlife habitat, by outcompeting and replacing native plant species, salinizing soils, monopolizing limited sources of moisture, and increasing the frequency, intensity and effect of fires and floods. While it has been shown that individual plants may not consume larger quantities of water than native species, it has also been shown that large dense stands of Tamarix do consume more water than equivalent stands of native cottonwoods. There is an active and ongoing debate as to when Tamarix can out-compete native plants, and if it is actively displacing native plants or it just taking advantage of disturbance by removal of natives by humans and changes in flood regimes. Research on competition between Tamarix seedlings and co-occurring native trees has found that the seedlings are not competitive over a range of environments, however stands of mature trees effectively prevent native species establishment in the understory, due to low light, elevated salinity, and possibly changes to the soil biota. Thus, anthropogenic activities that preferentially favor tamarisk (such as changes to flooding regimes) are associated with infestation. To date, Tamarix has taken over large sections of riparian ecosystems in the western United States that were once home to native cottonwoods and willows, and are projected by some to spread well beyond the current range.Controls
There are several ways to deal with pest populations of tamarisk in the United States. The National Park ServiceNational Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
has used physically removing the plants, spraying them with herbicide
Herbicide
Herbicides, also commonly known as weedkillers, are pesticides used to kill unwanted plants. Selective herbicides kill specific targets while leaving the desired crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often synthetic "imitations" of plant...
s, and introducing northern tamarisk beetles (Diorhabda carinulata
Diorhabda carinulata
Diorhabda carinulata is a species of leaf beetle known as the northern tamarisk beetle which feeds on tamarisk trees from southern Russia and Iran to Mongolia and western China...
) in the National Park System. This has been done in the Dinosaur National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument is a National Monument located on the southeast flank of the Uinta Mountains on the border between Colorado and Utah at the confluence of the Green and Yampa Rivers. Although most of the monument area is in Moffat County, Colorado, the Dinosaur Quarry is located in Utah...
in Utah and Colorado along the Green and Yampa Rivers, during the summers of 2006 and 2007. After years of study, the USDA Agricultural Research Service
Agricultural Research Service
The Agricultural Research Service is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture . ARS is one of four agencies in USDA's Research, Education and Economics mission area...
has found that the tamarisk beetles eat only the tamarisk, and starve when there is no more tamarisk available. No other native North American plants have been found to be eaten by the introduced tamarisk beetle. Progress is slow, but proves that containment of the tamarisk is possible in the long term.
Uses
- The tamarisk is used as an ornamental shrub, a windbreakWindbreakA windbreak or shelterbelt is a plantation usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted around the edges of fields on farms. If designed properly, windbreaks around a...
, and a shade treeShade treeA shade tree is any tree grown specifically for its shade. This term usually applies to large trees with spreading canopies. Shade trees are effective in reducing the energy used in cooling homes....
. The wood may be used for carpentry or firewood. It is a possible agroforestryAgroforestryAgroforestry is an integrated approach of using the interactive benefits from combining trees and shrubs with crops and/or livestock.It combines agricultural and forestry technologies to create more diverse, productive, profitable, healthy and sustainable land-use systems.-Definitions:According to...
species. - Plans are being made for the tamarisk to play a role in anti-desertificationDesertificationDesertification is the degradation of land in drylands. Caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities, desertification is one of the most significant global environmental problems.-Definitions:...
programs in ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
., - Salt cedars can be planted to mine salts, then be used in the production of fuel and fertilizer (although the latter will be somewhat salty).
Invasive species
Tamarix ramosissimaTamarix ramosissima
Tamarix ramosissima, commonly known as Saltcedar, is a deciduous arching shrub with reddish stems and feathery, pale green foliage.-Description:...
has naturalized and become a major invasive plant species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
in parts of the world, such as in the Southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
and Desert Region of California
Desert Region of California
The Deserts of California have unique ecosystems and habitats, a sociocultural and historical "Old West" collection of legends, districts, and communities; and a popular tourism region of dramatic natural features and recreational development...
, consuming large amounts of groundwater in riparian and oases habitats. The balance and strength of the native flora and fauna is being helped by various restoration projects, by removing, like tall woody noxious weeds, Tamarix groves.
Cultural history
In Genesis 21:33, Abraham is recorded to have "planted a tamarisk at Beer-shebaBeersheba
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
". He had built a well there, earlier.
In the Quran 34:16, the people of Saba were punished when "[Allah] converted their two garden (rows) into gardens producing bitter fruit and tamarisks [...]"
In Egyptian Mythology
Egyptian mythology
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians' interaction with a multitude of deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces and elements of nature...
, the body of Osiris
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
is hidden for a time in a tamarisk tree in Byblos
Byblos
Byblos is the Greek name of the Phoenician city Gebal . It is a Mediterranean city in the Mount Lebanon Governorate of present-day Lebanon under the current Arabic name of Jubayl and was also referred to as Gibelet during the Crusades...
, until it was retrieved by Isis
Isis
Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...
. A reference to this is also made in the computer game, Age of Mythology
Age of Mythology
Age of Mythology , is a mythology-based, real-time strategy computer game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios...
, where the head of Osiris
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
is said to be hidden inside the trunk of a great tamarisk tree.
Wedgwood
Wedgwood
Wedgwood, strictly speaking Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, is a pottery firm owned by KPS Capital Partners, a private equity company based in New York City, USA. Wedgwood was founded on May 1, 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood and in 1987 merged with Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood, an...
made a “Tamarisk” China pattern.
According to the New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, the tamarisk plant is a favorite of the Greek god Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
.
External links
- Species Profile- Saltcedar (Tamarix spp.), National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural LibraryUnited States National Agricultural LibraryThe United States National Agricultural Library is one of the world's largest agricultural research libraries, and serves as a National Library of the United States and as the library of the United States Department of Agriculture...
. Lists general information and resources for Saltcedar. - Flora Europaea Tamarix
- Flora of China Tamarix species list
- U.S. NPS guide
- Tamarix (Genus) zipcodezoo.com
- Exotic Tamarisk on the Colorado Plateau
- Tamarix, a natural resource on which the communities depend for fuelwood, tools, and basket making.
- Afforestation and Salinity Control Using Tamarix; in Western China
- Introduction of the Tamarisk Beetle in Dinosaur National Monument
- Saltcedar - Center for Invasive Species