Tamarix gallica

Last updated

Tamarix gallica
Tamarix gallica bloemen.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Tamaricaceae
Genus: Tamarix
Species:
T. gallica
Binomial name
Tamarix gallica
L.
Synonyms
  • Tamarix anglica
  • Tamarix algeriensis
  • Tamarix brachylepis
  • Tamarix madritensis
In front of the sea in Vic-la-Gardiole. Tamarix gallica, Vic-la-Gardiole 01.jpg
In front of the sea in Vic-la-Gardiole.

Tamarix gallica, also known as the French tamarisk, [2] is a deciduous, herbaceous, twiggy shrub or small tree reaching up to about 5 meters high.

Contents

It is indigenous to Saudi Arabia and the Sinai Peninsula, and very common around the Mediterranean region. It is present in many other areas as an invasive introduced species, often becoming a noxious weed. [2] It was first described for botanical classification by the taxonomist Carl Linnaeus in 1753, but had already been in cultivation since 1596. [3]

Description

It has fragile, woody branchlets that drop off in autumn along with the small, scale-like leaves that cover them. The leaf-shape is an adaptation over time to exceedingly dry conditions. [3]

The pink flowers are tiny, hermaphroditic, and are borne on narrow, feather-like spikes. They frequently bloom earlier than the leaves, first in May, and sometimes a second time in August. [3]

In its native range the plant grows in moist areas such as riverbanks, especially in saline soils. [4] It has been grown as an ornamental plant for its profuse production of showy pink flower spikes. In Algeria and surrounding areas it has been used medicinally for rheumatism, diarrhea, and other maladies. [4] Its juice is an ingredient for Gaz, a Persian delicacy from Isfahan.

Related Research Articles

<i>Tamarix</i> Genus of plants

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. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tamaris River in Hispania Tarraconensis (Spain).

<i>Nicotiana glauca</i> Species of plant

Nicotiana glauca is a species of flowering plant in the tobacco genus Nicotiana of the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is known by the common name tree tobacco. Its leaves are attached to the stalk by petioles, and its leaves and stems are neither pubescent nor sticky like Nicotiana tabacum. It resembles Cestrum parqui but differs in the form of leaves and fusion of the outer floral parts. It grows to heights of more than two meters.

<i>Aesculus californica</i> Species of plant

Aesculus californica, commonly known as the California buckeye or California horse-chestnut, is a species of buckeye native to California and southwestern Oregon.

<i>Prosopis pubescens</i> Species of tree

Strombocarpa pubescens, commonly known as screwbean mesquite, is a species of flowering shrub or small tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.

<i>Grindelia squarrosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Grindelia squarrosa, also known as a curly-top gumweed or curlycup gumweed, is a small North American biennial or short-lived perennial plant.

<i>Prunus emarginata</i> Species of tree

Prunus emarginata, the bitter cherry or Oregon cherry, is a species of Prunus native to western North America, from British Columbia south to Baja California, and east as far as western Wyoming and New Mexico. It is often found in recently disturbed areas or open woods on nutrient-rich soil.

<i>Prunus subcordata</i> Species of tree

Prunus subcordata, known by the common names Klamath plum, Oregon plum, Pacific plum and Sierra plum, is a member of the genus Prunus, native to the western United States, especially California and Oregon.

<i>Tamarix aphylla</i> Species of plant

Tamarix aphylla is the largest known species of Tamarix, with heights up to 18 metres (59 ft). The species has a variety of common names, including Athel tamarisk, Athel tree, and Athel pine. It is an evergreen tree, native across North, East, and Central Africa, through the Middle East, and into parts of Western and Southern Asia.

<i>Agastache urticifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Agastache urticifolia is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name nettleleaf giant hyssop or horse mint.

<i>Atriplex lentiformis</i> Species of bush

Atriplex lentiformis is a species of saltbush.

<i>Tamarix ramosissima</i> Species of shrub

Tamarix ramosissima, commonly known as saltcedarsalt cedar, or tamarisk, is a deciduous arching shrub with reddish stems, feathery, pale green foliage, and characteristic small pink flowers.

<i>Diorhabda carinulata</i> Species of beetle

Diorhabda carinulata is a species of leaf beetle known as the northern tamarisk beetle, which feeds on tamarisk trees from southern Russia and Iran to Mongolia and western China. This beetle is used in North America as a biological pest control agent against saltcedar or tamarisk, an invasive species in arid and semiarid ecosystems.

<i>Diorhabda elongata</i> Species of beetle

Diorhabda elongata is a species of leaf beetle known as the Mediterranean tamarisk beetle (MTB) which feeds on tamarisk trees from Portugal and Algeria east to southern Russia. The MTB is used in North America as a biological pest control agent against saltcedar or tamarisk, an invasive species in arid and semi-arid ecosystems.

<i>Diorhabda carinata</i> Species of beetle

Diorhabda carinata is a species of leaf beetle known as the larger tamarisk beetle which feeds on tamarisk trees from Ukraine, eastern Turkey and Syria east to northwest China, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan, extending as far south as southern Iran. It is used in North America as a biological pest control agent against saltcedar or tamarisk, an invasive species in arid and semi-arid ecosystems.

<i>Diorhabda sublineata</i> Species of beetle

Diorhabda sublineata is a leaf beetle known as the subtropical tamarisk beetle (STB). The species was first described by Hippolyte Lucas in 1849. It feeds on tamarisk trees from Portugal, Spain and France to Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Iraq. It is used in North America as a biological pest control agent against saltcedar or tamarisk, an invasive species in arid and semi-arid ecosystems.

<i>Tamarix chinensis</i> Species of tree

Tamarix chinensis is a species of tamarisk known by the common names five-stamen tamarisk and Chinese 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 metres or more in maximum height. It has been known to reach 12 metres. 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 mm long. The inflorescence is a dense raceme of flowers a few cm long. Each fragrant flower has five petals which are usually pink but range from white to red.

<i>Tamarix parviflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Tamarix parviflora is a species of tamarisk known by the common name smallflower tamarisk.

<i>Ambrosia salsola</i> Species of flowering plant

Ambrosia salsola, commonly called cheesebush, winged ragweed, burrobush, white burrobrush, and desert pearl, is a species of perennial shrub in the family Asteraceae native to deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.

<i>Tamarix nilotica</i> Species of plant

Tamarix nilotica, the Nile tamarisk is a species of shrub or small tree in the tamarisk family. It is found in arid parts of North Africa and the Middle East, particularly areas with high salinity. It forms part of the dune stabilisation process.

<i>Tamarix usneoides</i> Species of shrub

Tamarix usneoides, locally known as wild tamarisk, is a twiggy shrub or small evergreen tree that grows in saline habitats, semi-deserts and karroid areas in southern Africa, ranging from Angola through Namibia to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. It has a short trunk, thin branches usually growing from ground level, tiny scale-like leaves and spikes of creamy-white flowers.

References

  1. Beech, E. (2018). "Tamarix gallica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T79928337A123870908. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Tamarix gallica". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Eleanor Lawrence, Ed. (1985). The Illustrated Book of Trees & Shrubs. New York, NY: Gallery Books, an imprint of W.H.Smith Publishers Inc. p. 150. ISBN   0-8317-8820-8.
  4. 1 2 A Guide to Medicinal Plants in North Africa