tamarisk

[prettygoodword]

tamarisk (TAM-uh-risk) - n., any of several shrubs (genus Tamarix) with slender, feathery branches and pink or white flowers, native to arid regions of Eurasia and Africa, often invasive in other arid regions.


Not to be confused with tamarind or tamarack. Also called salt cedar because of its salt tolerance. Here in as the American southwest, T. ramosissima in particular is considered a pernicious weed because it bogarts the water in riparian niches. The name's been in English since the 14th century, even though there's no arid places in England so I blame the Crusaders, from Late Latin tamariscus, from Latin tamarix, from an unknown Mediterranean source, probably also the source to the Greek name muríkē, sometimes speculated to be the river Tamaris (modern name Tambre) in northwestern Spain, which would make it a Celtic-rooted cognate of the Thames (PIE root sense being "dark"). T. ramosissima in bloom:


Thanks, WikiMedia!

---L.

Comments

[feast_of_regrets]

I saw this picture and was instantly awash in memories. These have largely naturalized along the Colorado River in western Colorado. Efforts to eradicate them have probably caused more harm than just leaving them would have, but I don't know. Those pink feather fronds over the river were a fixture of summer when I was growing up.

[prettygoodword]

They are all over the banks of rivers in central Arizona, too. I haven’t been hearing lately about eradication efforts, but that could be because buffelgrass inroads has been displacing attention.