Smallflower tamarisk

Description

Tamarix parviflora is a species of tamarisk known by the common name smallflower tamarisk. It is native to south-eastern Europe (in Albania, East Aegean Islands, Greece, Crete, Turkey, Turkey-in-Europe, Yugoslavia and to Iran and Palestine, (in Western Asia). It has been introduced elsewhere, in places such as; Algeria, Austria, Cape Provinces, Corsica, Italy, Libya, Mexico, Pakistan, Sicily, Spain, West Himalayas and western North America (Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas), where it is an invasive introduced species. It easily inhabits moist habitat, especially in saline soils. It is a shrub or tree growing up to about 5 meters tall. The branching twigs are covered in tiny linear leaves no more than 2 or 3 millimetres long. The inflorescence is a dense spike with flowers 1 to 4 centimeters long. Each tiny flower has four pink petals. It was first published and described by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in Prodr. vol.3 on page 97 in 1828. The genus Tamarix (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tamaris River in Hispania Tarraconensis (Spain). They are evergreen or deciduous shrubs or trees growing to 1–18 m (3.3–59.1 ft) in height and forming dense thickets. The largest, Tamarix aphylla, is an evergreen tree that can grow to 18 m (59 ft) tall. They usually grow on saline soils, tolerating up to 15,000 ppm soluble salt, and can also tolerate alkaline 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 gray-brown, ridged and furrowed. The leaves are scale-like, almost like that of junipers, 1–2 mm (1/20" to 1/10") long, and overlap each other along the stem. They are often encrusted with salt secretions. The pink to white flowers appear in dense masses on 5–10 cm (2" to 4") long spikes at branch tips from March to September, though some species (e.g., T. aphylla) tend to flower in the summer till as late as November.