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Chinese tamarisk, five-stamen saltcedar, five-stamen tamarisk, saltcedar

Habit Shrubs or trees, to 8 m.
Leaves

blade lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 1.5–3 mm.

Inflorescences

2–6 cm × 5–7 mm;

bract reaching or exceeding pedicel, not exceeding calyx tip.

Flowers

5-merous;

sepals 0.5–1.5 mm, margins entire;

petals elliptic to ovate, 1.5–2 mm; antisepalous stamens 5, filaments alternate with nectar disc lobes, some or all originating from below disc.

2n

= 24.

Tamarix chinensis

Phenology Flowering early spring–fall.
Habitat Riverways, lakeshores, arroyos
Elevation 0–2500 m (0–8200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OK; TX; UT; WY; e Asia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in South America (Argentina)]
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Tamarix chinensis, morphologically very similar to T. ramosissima, hybridizes with T. ramosissima (commonly) and T. aphylla (rarely).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 416.
Parent taxa Tamaricaceae > Tamarix
Sibling taxa
T. africana, T. aphylla, T. canariensis, T. gallica, T. parviflora, T. ramosissima, T. tetragyna
Synonyms T. juniperina
Name authority Loureiro: Fl. Cochinch. 1: 182. (1790)
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