Canary Island tamarisk Canary Island tamarisk

Shrubs or trees, to 5 m. Leaves: blade lanceolate, 1.5–2.5 mm. Inflorescences 1.5–5 cm × 4–5 mm; bract reaching or exceeding calyx tip. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 1.5–1.8 mm, margins denticulate; petals obovate, 1.2–1.5 mm; antisepalous stamens 5, filaments confluent with nectar disc lobes, all originating from edge of disc.

Flowering spring–summer. Ocean shorelines, riverways, sandy soil; 0–300 m; introduced; Ga., La., N.C., S.C., Tex.; s Europe (Sardinia, Sicily); n Africa (Tunisia); Atlantic Islands (Canary Islands).

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