Five-stamen Tamarisk (Tamarix chinensis) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

Five-stamen tamarisk is a feathery shrub or small tree from eastern Asia, with tiny scale-like leaves and dense spikes of small pink flowers. Planted in the US as an ornamental and for erosion control, it escaped and became an aggressive invader of streamsides in the Southwest. In North America it commonly hybridizes with its close relative saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima), and both are often loosely called "saltcedar"; it is also known as Chinese tamarisk.

Appearance

Growth form: A single-trunked tree or multi-stemmed shrub that often reaches 20 ft (6 m) and has been recorded to about 39 ft (12 m). Bark is reddish brown to black.
Leaves: Tiny, pointed, scale-like leaves no more than about 1/8 in. (3 mm) long cover the fine, branching twigs. The plant drops its leaves in winter.
Flowers: Small fragrant flowers with five petals, usually pink but ranging from white to red, packed into dense spikes an inch or two long.
Flowering time: Some forms bloom in spring on last year's twigs, others in late summer on new green growth. In Arches National Park, Utah, it blooms from April through September.

Look-alikes

SaltcedarTamarix ramosissima

Very hard to tell apart in photos, and the two hybridize. Saltcedar usually blooms on the current season's growth, while five-stamen tamarisk has forms that bloom earlier in spring on last year's twigs; botanists also check sepal and petal shape.

Why they get mixed upClosely related, same pink spikes and scale leaves

Athel tamariskTamarix aphylla

Athel is an evergreen tree that can grow much larger, up to about 60 ft (18 m), and blooms July through November. It is planted mainly as a windbreak and shade tree in Southwestern deserts and has not spread into the wild in the US.

Why they get mixed upAlso a tamarisk seen in the Southwest

Where it lives

Typical habitats: riverbanks
seeps and springs
salty ground
disturbed ground
Range: Native to eastern Asia, mainly China. In the US it was brought in as an ornamental and for erosion control, and it is now a widespread invader, most troublesome in the Southwest.
Preferred conditions: Thrives on moist ground with salty soil.
Flowering: Flowers Apr–Sep
Flowers Apr–Sep

Life cycle

Seed dispersal: Tiny seeds with tufts of hair blow away on the wind.

Growing it

Propagation: It also spreads from roots and from branches buried by river sediment.

Conservation

IUCN Red List: LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
Threats: Treated as a in places, it crowds out native streamside plants in the Southwest and is very hard to eradicate once established.