BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Tamarix ramosissima | Saltcedar 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Saltcedar is a long-lived (50-100 years), dense, deciduous shrub or tree
6 to 26 feet (2-8 m) tall [17,22,42].  Branches are smooth, slender,
flexible, and break off easily [9,17,22,42].  The crown is narrow or
rounded [30].  Branches are covered with minute, scalelike leaves, 0.02
to 0.03 inch (0.5-1.0 mm) long [17,22,42].  The bark of saltcedar is
smooth, becoming furrowed and ridged with age [30].  The wood is soft
and white [42].  Saltcedar has a deep taproot and extensive lateral
rhizomes.  Secondary root branching is profuse upon contact with water
[4,15].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Sexual reproduction:  Saltcedar flowers are primarily insect pollinated
[15].  A mature saltcedar plant can produce 600,000 seeds annually
[19,25,41,43].  Saltcedar generally flowers in its third year of growth
or later, but may flower during the first year [43].  Seeds are very
small with a tuft of hair at one end, which aids in dissemination by
wind and water [19,23].

Seed viability and germination:  Viability generally lasts for only a
few weeks, especially at high temperatures [19].  The seeds will
germinate on saturated soils or while afloat.  Once wetted, fresh seeds
usually germinate within 24 hours regardless of light conditions
[19,23].

Seedlings:  Seedlings grow slowly and require saturated soils throughout
the first 2 to 4 weeks of growth.  They will not survive more than 1 day
without moist soil.  Seedlings can survive submergence for several weeks
but are uprooted by weak currents.  Slowly receding water levels along
river or reservoir banks create optimum seedbeds, but permanent survival
requires several months without subsequent flooding [19,23].  Seedlings
are very resistant to desiccation [15].

Vegetative reproduction:  Saltcedar sprouts from the root crown and
rhizomes [23,25,41,52].  Severed stems and shoots of saltcedar readily
root in moist soil, but once dry, they rapidly lose this ability.
Adventitious roots sprout from submerged or buried stems [23].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Saltcedar commonly occurs along floodplains, riverbanks, stream courses,
salt flats, marshes, and irrigation ditches in arid regions of the
Southwest.  It often forms pure thickets that extend for miles
[6,18,31,33,50].  It is one of the most widely distributed and
troublesome weeds along water courses in park lands of the Southwest
[26].  In the Great Plains, saltcedar is common along streams, in low
undrained areas, and around lakeshores.  It is especially common in the
Arkansas and Cimarron river valleys and occasionally on dry hillsides
[42].

Water requirements:  Saltcedar is a facultative phreatophyte [40,43].
Its roots may penetrate soil 30 feet (9.1 m) or more, but the plant
cannot survive if moisture is suddenly removed from the root zone [15].
It generally grows where the depth of the water table does not exceed 25
feet (7.6 m), and normally where it is less than 15 feet (4.6 m) [40].
Dense stands will grow only where the water table is between 5 and 20
feet (1.5-6 m) below the soil surface.  If the water table is less than
5 feet (1.5 m) from the surface, the plants branch profusely and do not
form a dense stand [23].  Once established, saltcedar can tolerate both
drought and flooding [41].  By shedding its leaves and halting growth,
it can withstand lengthy drought periods [23].  Additionally, saltcedar
can tolerate inundation for up to 3 months [15].

Soils and dissolved solids:  Saltcedar grows well on moist sandy, sandy
loam, loamey, and clayey soil textures.  It has a wide range of
tolerance to saline and alkaline soil and water [10,40,42].  It has been
found growing in Death Valley, California, where the groundwater
contains as much as 5 percent dissolved solids [40].  It copes with high
concentrations of dissolved solids by absorbing them through its roots
and excreting excess salts through the glands in its stems and leaves.
Eventually, these salts end up on the ground beneath the plant, forming
a saline crust [41].

Shade-tolerance: Saltcedar is highly susceptible to shading.  Shaded
plants have altered leaf morphology and reduced reproduction [43].

Elevational range:  Saltcedar occurs from below sea level to more than
7,000 feet (2,134 m) in elevation [43].  Elevational range for several
western states is as follows [10]:

        Utah: 4,200 to 7,000 feet (1,280-2134 m)
        Colorado: 3,400 to 7,400 feet (1,036-2,256 m)
        Wyoming: 3,200 to 7,300 feet (975-2,225 m)


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Saltcedar is a pioneer or colonizing species that establishes on freshly
exposed alluvium, sand and gravel bars, and streambanks or other
floodplains after disturbance [4,44,46].  Once established it often
occurs in pure stands, persisting indefinitely in the absence of
disturbance [4,6,16].  A decrease in river fluctuations can rapidly
shift sites from habitats dominated by native vegetation to pure stands
of saltcedar [21].  Saltcedar is a slow starter that does not compete
well in established communities.  Throughout most of its range, periodic
burning, clearing, or flooding have caused saltcedar communities to
remain in a youthful stage; therefore, little is known about its place
in the natural succession of the floodplain community [11].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Saltcedar buds generally break dormancy in February or March [43].
Flowering begins in March and continues through September.  A succession
of small, capsule fruits ripen and split open during the period from
April through October in Arizona [39].  Water-stressed individuals may
stop flowering following the spring blooming period [43].

Related categories for Species: Tamarix ramosissima | Saltcedar