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TAMARISK

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Originally appearing in Volume V26, Page 387 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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TAMARISK . The genus Tamarix gives its name to a small See also:

group of shrubs or See also:low trees constituting the tamarisk See also:family Tamaricaceae. The See also:species of tamarisk and of the very closely allied genus Myricaria grow in See also:salt-deserts, by the See also:sea-See also:shore, or in other more or less sterile localities in warm, temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions of the eastern hemisphere. Their See also:long slender branches See also:bear very numerous small appressed leaves, in which the evaporating See also:surface is reduced to a minimum. The See also:flowers are See also:minute and numerous, in long clusters at the Reformed Judaism. ends of the branches or from the See also:trunk. Each has 4-5 See also:free sepals, and as many petals springing with the 4-10 stamens from a fleshy disk. In Tamarix the stamens are free, while in Myricaria they are See also:united into one See also:parcel. The free ovary is one-celled, with basal placentas, and surmounted by 3-5 styles. The See also:fruit is capsular, and contains numerous seeds, each usually with a long tuft of hairs at one end. The See also:great value of these shrubs or trees lies in their ability to withstand the effects of drought and a saline See also:soil, in consequence of which they grow where little else can flourish. On this See also:account the See also:common tamarisk, T. gallica, is planted on sea-coasts, and affords shelter where none other could be provided.

Some species produce See also:

galls, valued for their See also:tannin, while the astringent bark of others has occasionally been used for medicinal purposes. The ashes of the plant, when grown near the sea, are said to contain soda. For tamarisk See also:manna, see MANNA.

End of Article: TAMARISK

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