French tamarisk French tamarisk

Shrubs or trees, to 5 m. Leaves: blade lanceolate, 1.5–2 mm. Inflorescences 2–5 cm × 4–5 mm; bract exceeding pedicel, not reaching calyx tip. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 0.5–1.5 mm, margins entire or subentire; petals elliptic to ovate, 1.5–2 mm; antisepalous stamens 5, filaments confluent with nectar disc lobes, all originating from edge of disc. 2n = 24.

Flowering spring–early fall. Ocean shorelines, riverways, sandy soil; 0–300 m; introduced; Ark., Calif., Ga., La., N.Mex., Okla., S.C., Tex.; s Europe; introduced also in Mexico (Chihuahua, Durango, Sinaloa), South America (Argentina).

Tamarix gallica is morphologically very similar to, and may form hybrids with T. canariensis.