Salt Cedar
Family Tamaricaceae
Tamarix spp
Designation/Status
Arizona Noxious Weed List -
Not Listed
Federal Noxious Weed List – Not Listed
Origins
The Tamarix is native to Southern Europe.
Plant Characteristics
Life Cycle: Spreads both vegetatively and sexually. It typically booms
between March and August.
Visual Appearance: Deciduous or evergreen shrubs or
small tree, 5 to 20 feet tall. Bark on saplings is reddish-brown.
Leaves are alternate, small and scale-like, on highly branched
slender stems. Flowers are pink to white, 5-petalled, with a
one-celled superior ovary. Flowers are 1 to 2 inches long racemes
grouped together in drooping, terminal clusters.
Habitat
The Tamarix is found
along streams, canals, and reservoirs in much of the western
United States below the elevation of 5,000 feet.
Control Measures
Mechanical and Cultural: Utilized techniques include
hand-pulling, digging, root-cutting, use of weed eaters, axes,
machetes, bulldozers, fire and flooding. Removal by hand is
generally recommended for small infestations of saplings under
1-inch diameter
Biological: Biological control has been attempted
using the Mealybug (Trabutina mannipara), and leaf beetle (Diorhabda
elongata).
Chemical: Chemicals that are systemic (kill from the
root up) are preferred and are typically more successful. Since
these trees grow near water, a pesticide that is approved for
aquatic use is recommended.
Other Points of Interest
The
Desert Tamarix was introduced to America as an ornamental
species. Large plants of Tamarix can transpire at least 200
gallons per plant each day and will often dry up ponds and
streams.
