''Tamarix aphylla'' is the largest known species of '' Tamarix'', with heights up to . The species has a variety of

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

s, including Athel tamarisk, Athel tree, and Athel pine. It is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

tree, native across North, East, and Central Africa, through the Middle East, and into parts of Western and Southern Asia.

Distribution

''Tamarix aphylla'' is found along watercourses in arid areas. It is very resistant to saline and alkaline soils. Its range extends from latitude 35°N to 0°N, and its W–E range extends from

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, eastwards to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and south to the Horn of Africa and into Kenya. It is found in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, east through

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, and into

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Description

''Tamarix aphylla'' grows as a tree to high. The tiny leaves are alternately arranged along the branches, and exude salt, which can form a crusted layer on the surface, and drop onto the ground beneath. The species can reproduce by seed, by suckering, or from a cutting. It blooms from July till November.

Salt tolerance and collecting humidity

The tree is known to be very tolerant of salts. It has been found that it excretes concentrated salty water from glands on its leaf surfaces; the water evaporates leaving a crust of crystals containing more than ten salts. Most of the crystals fall off, but the crystals of at least one, lithium sulphate, remain stuck on the leaves. These particular crystals swell with the small amount of humidity in the atmosphere at night, and the leaves absorb the moisture, helped by an adhesive surface that holds on to the water.

Uses

''Tamarix aphylla'' has been used as a windbreak and shade tree in agriculture and

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

for decades, especially in dryer regions such as the western United States and central and western Australia. Due to its higher fire adaptability, it can be used as a barrier to fire. Even when dry, the wood of ''Tamarix'' is difficult to burn, due to the high ash content (30–40%) and higher salt content of its foliage. After a fire it usually regrows, unless the root-crown is destroyed. The nectar from the blossoms of ''Tamarix aphylla'' produces high-quality honey with a unique taste. Due to the drought- and salt-tolerant properties of the tree, it could be planted as an agroforestry species, as well as for reclamation of marginal lands. A vegetative propagation method for the tree using the aeroponics technique has recently been developed. The wood of the tree is usable in several applications, having medium mechanical properties.

Australia

Within these regions, it has spread, most dramatically and noticeably in central

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

after the floods of 1974 along the Finke River in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

. Since then it has become a serious weed and

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The species had been present for many decades without much spread before this. It tends to use more water than most

native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equi ...

s in Australia, which it outcompetes. It has replaced the indigenous

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

along watercourses in the interior. It has been declared a weed of national significance in Australia.

United States

It is commonly used for

windbreak A windbreak (shelterbelt) is a planting usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted in hedgerows around the ed ...

s on the edges of agricultural fields and as a shade tree in the

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

s of the Southwestern

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. This species has not naturalized in areas of the United States where it has been grown, unlike other species in the genus '' Tamarix'' that are vigorously invasive.

History

Most botanists and Bible scholars believe that the ''eshel'' tree planted by

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

in the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; ; ) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its incipit, first word, (In the beginning (phrase), 'In the beginning'). Genesis purpor ...

, was ''Tamarix aphylla'',

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

wrote that its name was derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

'' 'a''' "without", and'' 'phyllon "leaf". In

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

and

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, the tree is called ''farash'' () and in Punjabi, it is called ''kooan'' (). In Baluchi, it is called ''shakargaaz'' or ''siahgaaz''. In Saraiki, it is called Khagal.

Chemistry

2,6-Digalloyl glucose and 3,6-digalloyl glucose are gallotannins which are found in the

gall Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to benign tumors or war ...

s of ''T. aphylla''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2889746 aphylla Flora of North Africa Flora of Western Asia Trees of Africa Flora of Eritrea Flora of Libya Flora of Algeria Flora of Egypt Flora of Chad Flora of Sudan Flora of Pakistan Garden plants of Africa Drought-tolerant trees Flora of Israel Flora of Palestine (region) Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus