Tamarix articulate Vahl.

Description :

This plant is tall shrub or small tree and about 13m tall. The bark of the plant is reddish brown to grey. It has vaginated and mucronated leaves of about 1.5 to 2 mm long and have some amount of salt. Flowers are bisexual, pinkish white, sub sessile and pedicel is less than 1 mm long. Sepals of flowers are 5 and 1.5mm long and 1mm wide. Petals are 5 to 2mm long. Fruit is capsulated, conic-pyramidal and about 3 to 5 mm and 1 to 2mm and have numerous seeds.

Distribution :

This plant is distributed to Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Senegal, Sudan, Abyssinia, Somalia and, Kenya), Middle East (Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq, Kuwait, Iran) Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. It prefers coastal scrubland in saline soils and grows well in hot desert areas in salty and non-salty habitats; at elevations from 200 - 400 meters

Uses :

This plant has been used for decades in different areas as a wind breaker and shade tree in agriculture and horticulture. Due to its higher fire adaptability, it can be used as a barrier to fire. The nectar from the flowers this plant produces a high-quality honey with an amazing and unique taste. Due to drought and salt tolerant properties of the tree it can be utilized for plantation as an agroforestry species as well as for reclamation of marginal lands. A sweet manna-like substance that forms on the twigs is used to adulterate cane sugar. It can also be eaten with porridge etc. or mixed with water to make a refreshing drink. The bark is astringent and bitter, and it is used for treating eczema and other skin diseases.

 

(CABI, 2000; Kunzmann et al., 1989)