saltcedar
Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb.

Overview

Appearance

Tamarix ramosissima is a deciduous shrub that can grow up to 15-20 ft. (4.6-6.1 m) in height. The bark is smooth and reddish on younger plants, turning brown and furrowed with age.

Foliage

Leaves are small, scale-like, gray-green in color, and overlap along the stem.

Flowers

The 5-petaled flowers are pale pink to white, in dense plumes that bloom from early spring to late fall.

Fruit

Fruit capsules contain numerous tiny (0.04 in. [0.1 cm] diameter) seeds.

Ecological Threat

T.ramosissima invades stream banks, sandbars, lake margins, wetlands, moist rangelands, and saline environments. It can crowd out native riparian species, diminish early successional habitat, and reduce water tables and interferes with hydrologic process.

Resources

• Weeds Gone Wild: Alien Plant Invaders of Natural Areas - Plant Conservation Alliance
• Element Stewardship Abstract - The Nature Conservancy
• Weed of the Week - USDA Forest Service

Selected Images

Maps

Invasive Listing Sources

• Alberta Weed Control Act
• Arizona Noxious Weeds
• California Invasive Plant Council
• California Noxious Weeds
• Colorado Noxious Weeds
• Jil M. Swearingen, Survey of invasive plants occurring on National Park Service lands, 2000-2007
• John Randall, The Nature Conservancy, Survey of TNC Preserves, 1995.
• Minnesota Noxious Weeds
• Nebraska Noxious Weeds
• Nonnative Invasive Species in Southern Forest and Grassland Ecosystems
• Oregon Noxious Weeds
• Pacific Northwest Exotic Pest Plant Council, 1998
• South Carolina Exotic Pest Plant Council
• South Dakota Noxious Weeds
• Utah Noxious Weeds - Contain
• Washington Noxious Weeds
• WeedUS - Database of Plants Invading Natural Areas in the United States

References