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Species
Tamarix aphylla (L.) H. Karst.
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Saltcedar establishes in disturbed and undisturbed streams, waterways, bottomlands, banks and drainage washes of natural or artificial waterbodies, moist rangelands and pastures, and other areas where seedlings can be exposed to extended periods of saturated soil for establishment. Saltcedar can grow on highly saline soils containing up to 15,000 ppm soluble salt and can tolerate alkali conditions.
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This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):
More info for the term: shrub
K019 Arizona pine forest
K023 Juniper - pinyon woodland
K027 Mesquite bosque
K033 Chaparral
K034 Montane chaparral
K038 Great Basin sagebrush
K039 Blackbrush
K040 Saltbrush - greasewood
K041 Creosotebush
K057 Galleta - threeawn shrubsteppe
K059 Trans-Pecos shrub savanna
K071 Shinnery
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Athel tamarisk generally flowers from March through August [16,25,29].
The fruit matures in late summer [16].
Athel tamarisk
Saltcedar spreads vegetatively, by adventitious roots or submerged stems, and sexually. Each flower can produce thousands of tiny (1/25-inch diameter) seeds that are contained in a small capsule usually adorned with a tuft of hair that aids in wind dispersal. Seeds can also be dispersed by water. Seedlings require extended periods of soil saturation for establishment.
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This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):
More info for the term: shrub
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES30 Desert shrub
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
FRES40 Desert grasslands
Fl. Per.: June-October
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Tamarix articulata Vahl.
Saltcedars are fire-adapted species and have long tap roots that allow them to intercept deep water tables and interfere with natural aquatic systems. Saltcedar disrupts the structure and stability of native plant communities and degrades native wildlife habitat by outcompeting and replacing native plant species, monopolizing limited sources of moisture, and increasing the frequency, intensity and effect of fires and floods. Although it provides some shelter, the foliage and flowers of saltcedar provide little food value for native wildlife species that depend on nutrient-rich native plant resources.
Where established outside of cultivation, Athel tamarisk commonly
occurs on salt flats, springs, and other saline habitats especially
along streams and rivers [22]. Athel tamarisk has been found along the
saline portions of the lower Colorado and Gila rivers and in the Salton
Sea Basin [27]. It also grows along irrigation ditches in bottomlands
[2].
Athel tamarisk is a facultative phreatophyte [33]. It is drought
resistant and is tolerant of alkaline and saline soils [16]. The
minimum annual rainfall required for reasonable growth is less than 16
inches (400 mm) [26]. The elevational range for Athel tamarisk in
California is from below sea level to 5,000 feet (1,524 m) [33]; in
Texas it occurs from 1,850 to 2,000 feet (564-610 m) [22].