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Tamaricaceae

(Family)

Overview

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Tamaricaceae (the tamarisk family) 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 (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group) place them in the Caryophyllales.

The family is native to drier areas of Europe, Asia and Africa. Many grow on saline soils, tolerating up to 15,000 ppm soluble salt and can also tolerate alkaline conditions. The leaves are generally scale-like, measure 1?5 mm long, overlap each other along the stem, and in some species are encrusted with salt secretions.

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Taxonomy

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The Family Tamaricaceae is further organized into finer groupings including:

Genera

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Eichwaldia

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Fouquiera

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Hololachna

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Myricaria

Shrubs, rarely subshrubs, deciduous, erect or prostrate. Leaves simple, alternate, sessile, usually densely arranged on green young branches of current year, margin entire. Flowers bisexual, shortly petiolate, clustered into terminal or lateral racemes or panicles; bracts broadly or narrowly membranous along margin. Calyx 5-fid; lobes often membranous along margin. Petals 5, pink, white, or purplish red, obovate, narrowly elliptic, or obovate-oblong, apex obtuse or emarginate, often incurved, usually persistent in fruit. Stamens 10: 5 long and 5 short; filaments ca. 1/2 or 2/3 united, rarely free; anthers 2-thecate, longitudinally dehiscent, yellow. Pistils consisting of 3 carpels; ovary 3-angled; placentation basal; ovules numerous; stigmas capitate, 3-lobed. Capsule 3-septicidal. Seeds numerous, apex awned; awns white villous throughout or on more than half; endosperm absent.[1] [more]

Myrtama

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Reaumuria

Subshrubs or shrubs, to 80 cm tall, with numerous zigzag branchlets. Leaves subsessile, scale-like, shortly terete or linear, small, margin entire, often fleshy or leathery, with salt-secreting glands. Flowers solitary on lateral branches or on shortened branchlets, or clustered in lax racemes, hermaphroditic, 5-merous; bracts imbricate, slightly longer or shorter than corolla. Calyx subcampanulate. Petals deciduous or persistent, inside with 2 scale-like appendages in lower half, margin laciniate, serrate, or entire. Stamens 5 to numerous, free or filaments united into 5 fascicles at base, opposite to petals. Ovary orbicular or broadly ellipsoid; styles 2-5. Capsule cartilaginous, 3-5-septicidal; seeds long brown hairy.[2] [more]

Tamaricaria

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Tamariscus

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Tamarix

The genus Tamarix (tamarisk, salt cedar) 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 have referred to the Tamaris River in Hispania Tarraconensis (Spain). [more]

Trichaurus

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More info about the Genus Trichaurus may be found here.

Bibliography

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Footnotes

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  1. "Myricaria". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 58, 66. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.
  2. Qiner Yang & John Gaskin "Reaumuria". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 58, 434. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Sources

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Last Revised: August 24, 2012
2012/08/24 13:44:19