Overview
Interesting Facts
Common Names
Click on the language to view common names.
Common Names in Afrikaans:
Woestyntamarisk
Common Names in Arabic:
Adzba, Atal, Etel, Takaout
Common Names in English:
Athel, Athel Pine, Athel Tamarisk, Athel-Pine, Athel-Tree, Desert Tamarix, Salt-Cedar, Saltcedar, Tamarisk, Tamarix
Common Names in French:
Tamaris
Common Names in German:
Tamariske
Common Names in India:
Farash
Common Names in Informal Latinized N:
Tamarix
Common Names in Spanish:
Taray
Description
Family Tamaricaceae
Shrubs
, subshrubs
, or trees
. Leaves small, mostly scale-like, alternate, estipulate, usually sessile, mostly with salt-secreting glands
. Flowers usually in racemes
or panicles, rarely solitary, usually hermaphroditic
, regular. Calyx 4- or 5-fid, persistent
. Petals 4 or 5, free
, deciduous after anthesis
or sometimes persistent. Disk inferior, usually thick, nectarylike. Stamens 4, 5, or more numerous
, usually free, inserted
on disk, rarely united
into fascicle at base
, or united up to half length
into a tube
. Anthers
2-thecate, longitudinally dehiscent
. Pistil 1, consisting of 2-5 carpels; ovary superior, 1-loculed; placentation parietal
, rarely septate
, or basal; ovules numerous, rarely few; styles short, usually 2-5, free, sometimes united. Capsule conic, abaxially dehiscent. Seeds numerous, hairy
throughout or awned
at apex; awns
puberulous
from base or from middle
; endosperm present or absent; embryo orthotropous
.
Three genera and ca.
110 species: steppe
and desert regions of the Old World; three genera and 32 species (12 endemic) in China.
Myrtama has been placed alternatively in Myricaria, Tamarix, or treated as a separate genus (see Gaskin et al.
, Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 91: 402-410. 2004; Zhang et al., Acta Bot. Boreal.-Occid. Sin. 20: 421-431. 2000) .[1]
Genus Tamarix
Shrubs
or trees
, much branched. Young branches usually glabrous
; two types of branches present: ligneous
growing branches, not deciduous in winter vs.
green vegetative
branchlets
, deciduous in winter. Leaves alternate, sessile, amplexicaul
or vaginate
, small, scale-like, glabrous, rarely hairy
, mostly with salt-secreting glands
. Flowers in racemes
or panicles, blooming in spring
; racemes lateral
on growing branches of previous or current
year and clustered in terminal
panicles, or two types of flowering habits present in some species. Flowers bisexual
, rarely unisexual
, 4- or 5(or 6) -merous, usually pedicellate
; bract 1. Calyx herbaceous or fleshy
, 4- or 5-fid; lobes
entire or faintly denticulate
. Petals as many as calyx lobes, deciduous or persistent
after anthesis
. Disk variously shaped, mostly 4- or 5-lobed; lobes entire, or apex retuse
or even deeply divided
. Stamens 4 or 5, opposite to calyx lobes, or numerous
, outer series opposite to calyx lobes; filaments
often free
, inserted
between lobes of disk or at apices of lobes; anthers
cordate, versatile, 2-thecate, longitudinally dehiscent
. Pistil consisting of 3 or 4 carpels; ovary mostly conic, many seeded; placentation basal-parietal; styles 3 or 4; stigmas capitate, short. Capsule conic, abaxially 3-septicidal. Seeds numerous, minute; apical awns
villous
.
About 90 species: Africa, Asia, Europe; 18 species (seven endemic) in China.[2]
Physical Description
Species Tamarix aphylla
Trees or large shrubs . Young branches smooth . Leaves sessile, vaginate , ca. 2 mm, base amplexicaul , apex acute. Racemes 3-6 cm × 4-5 mm; when flowering in spring , racemes solitary; flowers blooming more commonly in summer, then racemes on new branches; flowers subsessile ; bracts triangular or broadly triangular, exceeding pedicels, base slightly amplexicaul, apex acuminate. Pedicels much shorter than calyx. Calyx 5-fid, ca. 1.5 mm, margin entire, apex obtuse ; outer 2 lobes slightly smaller, broadly ovate or broadly elliptic , abaxially slightly carinate ; inner 3 larger, broadly elliptic or suborbicular . Petals 5, elliptic, oblong , or ovate-elliptic, 2-2.3 mm, deciduous, sometimes 1 or 2 persistent in fruit. Disk 5-lobed; lobes emarginate at apex or deeply divided into 10 lobules . Stamens 5; filaments inserted between disk lobes. Fl. Sep-Oct and rarely in spring. 2n = 24*. [source]
Habit: Tree , Shrub
Flowers: Bloom Period: June. • Flower Color: pale pink
Size/Age/Growth
Size: over 40' tall.
Habitat
Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,409 meters (0 to 7,904 feet).[3]
Biology
Reproduction
Duration: Perennial
Growth
Soil: Minimum pH: 6.1 • Maximum pH: 9.0
Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .
Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High
Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b. (map)
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
)
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
)
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
)
- Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
)
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
)
- Kenrick & Crane, 1997
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
)
- Brongniart, 1843
- Subclass:
Dilleniidae
(
)
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Violanae
(
)
- R. Dahlgren Ex Reveal, 1992
- Order:
Caryophyllales
(
)
- Perleb, 1826
- Family:
Tamaricaceae
(
)
- Link, 1821
- tamarisk
- Genus:
Tamarix
(
)
- C. Linnaeus, 1753
- Tamarisk
- Specific epithet:
aphylla
- (L.) Karst.
- Botanical name: - Tamarix aphylla (L.) Karst.
- Specific epithet:
aphylla
- (L.) Karst.
- Genus:
Tamarix
(
- Family:
Tamaricaceae
(
- Order:
Caryophyllales
(
- Superorder:
Violanae
(
- Subclass:
Dilleniidae
(
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Synonyms
Cent. I Pl. 32. 1755. • Tamarix articulata Vahl • Thuya aphylla Linnaeus
Notes
Name
Status: Accepted Name
.
Last scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000
Similar Species
Members of the genus Tamarix
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 15 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
T. africana (African Tamarisk) · T. aphylla (Athel) · T. aralensis (Russian Tamarisk) · T. canariensis (Canary Island Tamarisk) · T. chinensis (China Tamarisk) · T. dioica (Saltcedar) · T. gallica (French Tamarisk) · T. parviflora (Saltcedar) · T. ramosissima (Five-Stamen Tamarix) · T. ramosissima 'Pink Cascade' (Five-Stamen Tamarix) · T. ramosissima 'Rosea' (Salt Cedar) · T. ramosissima 'Rubra' (Five-Stamen Tamarix) · T. ramosissima 'Summer Glow' (Five-Stamen Tamarix) · T. tetragyna (Saltcedar) · T. tetranda 'Hulsdonk White' (Four-Stamen Tamarisk 'hulsdonk White')
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Aquatic and wetland plants of southwestern United States, by Donovan S. Correll and Helen B. Correll. [Washington]Environmental Protection Agency; [For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off.]1972. url p. 1148, p. 1149.
- Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). London: The Museum, 1951-1992. url p. 173, p. 180.
- California fish and game. [San Francisco, etc.]: State of California, Resources Agency, Dept. of Fish and Game. url p. 295.
- Cooperative economic insect report. Hyattsville, MD. [etc.]Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs Animal and Plant Health Service. url p. 625.
- Great Basin naturalist memoirs. 1987 [Provo, Utah]Brigham Young University, 1976-1992. url p. 610, p. 890.
- IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas IUCN url p. 101, p. 113, p. 126, p. 128, p. 153, p. 163, p. 167, p. 177, p. 92.
- Inventory of seeds and plants imported / U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1914-1924. url , , p. 26, p. 27, p. 38, p. 4, p. 47, p. 53, p. 56, p. 90.
- Nature Reserves of the Himalaya and the Mountains of Central Asia IUCN url p. 434, p. 470.
- Pamphlets on silviculture. [1899- url p. 1469, p. 893.
- Plants for California landscapes: a catalog of drought tolerant plants. [Sacramento, Calif.]: State of California, Resources Agency, Dept. of Water Resources, [1979] url p. 33.
- Postilla. 1966 New Haven, Conn.: Peabody Museum of Natural History, [1950?]-c2004. url fig. 11 , p. 12, p. 12.
- The Great Basin naturalist. 40 1980 Provo, Utah: M.L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, 1939-1999. url p. 56, p. 67.
- The contemporary land mammals of Egypt (including Sinai) / Dale J. Osborn, Ibrahim Helmy. 5 1980 [Chicago]: Field Museum of Natural History, 1980. url p. 44, p. 51.
- The ethnobotany of southern Balochistan, Pakistan: with particular reference to medicinal plants / Steven M. Goodman, Abdul Ghafoor. 31 1992 Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, c1992. url fig. 4 , p. 30, p. 58, p. 7, p. 84.
- Trees: the yearbook of agriculture 1949. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture: 1949. url p. 819, p. 820, p. 940.
- Trees: the yearbook of agriculture, 1949 / the United States Department of Agriculture. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1949 url p. 819, p. 820, p. 940.
- Zhang Pengyun & Zhang Yaojia. 1990. Tamaricaceae. In: Li Hsiwen, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 50(2): 142-177.
- Zhang Pengyun & Zhang Yaojia. 1990. Tamaricaceae. In: Li Hsiwen, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 50(2): 142-177.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal December 04, 2007:
- Australian National Herbarium
- , Australian National Herbarium
- Berkeley Natural History Museums, University and Jepson Herbaria DiGIR provider
- Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Bishop Museum Natural History Specimen Data
- Comisión nacional para el conocimiento y uso de la biodiversidad, Herbario del Instituto de Ecología, A.C., México
- Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Virtual Herbarium Darwin Core format
- Herbarium Hamburgense, Impetus - Herbarium Hamburgense
- Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Israel Nature and Parks Authority
- Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
- National Herbarium of New South Wales, NSW herbarium collection
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Arizona State University Vascular Plant Herbarium
- USDA PLANTS, USDA PLANTS Database
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2648123
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-22306
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13787492
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:98339-3
- GRIN Nomen Number: 36222
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 22306
- International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 98339-3
- U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: TAAP
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 65298
Footnotes
- Qiner Yang & John Gaskin "Tamaricaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 58. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
- "Tamarix". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 58, 59, 434. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
- Mean = 511.710 meters (1,678.839 feet), Standard Deviation = 498.870 based on 92 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
