Tamarix chinensis
Encyclopedia
Tamarix 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 habitat with saline soils. It may grow as a tree
with a single trunk or as a shrub
with several spreading erect branches reaching 6 meters or more in maximum height. It has been known to reach 12 meters. It has reddish, brown, or black bark. The small, multibranched twigs are covered in small lance-shaped, scale-like leaves which are no more than about 3 millimeters long. The inflorescence
is a dense raceme
of flowers a few centimeters long. Each tiny fragrant flower has five petals which are usually pink but range from white to red.
This tamarisk can hybridize with Tamarix parviflora
. T. ramosissima may be treated in synonymy
or as a separate species.
It has become an aggressive invader of wildlands in the southwestern United States, where it was once planted as an ornamental plant
. It reproduces vegetatively
from its roots and also from its foliage if it happens to be covered by soil, as in sediment-rich flooding. It also reproduces by its seed, which are tiny and tufted with hairs, easily dispersing
on the wind. Despite its reputation as a noxious weed, the tree can be useful for wood, in honey
production, and as a nesting site for various birds.
In its native habitat in China the plant forms thickets that act as useful barriers on the margins of waterways, including saline ocean shores.
Tamarix
The genus Tamarix is composed of about 50-60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa...
known by the common names Chinese tamarisk and five-stamen tamarisk or saltcedar. It is native to China
China
Chinese 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...
and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, and it is known in many other parts of the world as an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
and sometimes an invasive
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....
noxious weed. It easily inhabits moist habitat with saline soils. It may grow as a 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...
with a single trunk or as a 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...
with several spreading erect branches reaching 6 meters or more in maximum height. It has been known to reach 12 meters. It has reddish, brown, or black bark. The small, multibranched twigs are covered in small lance-shaped, scale-like leaves which are no more than about 3 millimeters long. The inflorescence
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...
is a dense raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
of flowers a few centimeters long. Each tiny fragrant flower has five petals which are usually pink but range from white to red.
This tamarisk can hybridize with Tamarix parviflora
Tamarix parviflora
Tamarix parviflora is a species of tamarisk known by the common name smallflower tamarisk.It is native to southeastern Europe but it is well-known elsewhere, such as western North America, where it is an invasive introduced species.It easily inhabits moist habitat, especially in saline soils. It...
. T. ramosissima may be treated in synonymy
Synonym (taxonomy)
In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...
or as a separate species.
It has become an aggressive invader of wildlands in the southwestern United States, where it was once planted as an ornamental plant
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...
. It reproduces vegetatively
Vegetative 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...
from its roots and also from its foliage if it happens to be covered by soil, as in sediment-rich flooding. It also reproduces by its seed, which are tiny and tufted with hairs, easily dispersing
Biological dispersal
Biological dispersal refers to species movement away from an existing population or away from the parent organism. Through simply moving from one habitat patch to another, the dispersal of an individual has consequences not only for individual fitness, but also for population dynamics, population...
on the wind. Despite its reputation as a noxious weed, the tree can be useful for wood, in honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
production, and as a nesting site for various birds.
In its native habitat in China the plant forms thickets that act as useful barriers on the margins of waterways, including saline ocean shores.