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Tamarix aphylla

Common name:	Athel Tamarisk	Family:	Tamaricaceae
Author:	(L.)H.Karst.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:	Tamarix orientalis (Forssk.), Tamarix articulata (Vahl.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	W. Asia to N.E. Africa.
Habitat:	Not known
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Thuja aphylla[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Athel Tamarisk [P,DEN2,B,FEIS], Atsl [E], Tamarisk [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	aphylla = leafless
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Violales. Tamarix family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Algeria Arabia Egypt
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: Nevada, Washington, Northen Territory (Aust).

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 10m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 8. It is in flower in July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedge, Woodland, Canopy, Secondary.

Edible Uses

Drink Manna.

A sweet manna-like substance that forms on the twigs is used to adulterate cane sugar[177, 183]. It can also be eaten with porridge etc or mixed with water to make a refreshing drink[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent Bitter.

The galls are astringent[240].
The bark is astringent and bitter[240].

Other Uses

Hedge Tannin.

Very tolerant of maritime exposure, it makes a good shelter hedge in coastal gardens[229].
Galls produced on the twigs and flowers (probably as a result of insect activity[K]) contain up to 55% tannin[223].
The wood has been used for fuel[257].

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant, succeeding in most soils and tolerant of saline conditions[11]. Grows well in heavy clay soils as well as in sands and even shingle[182]. Usually found near the coast, it succeeds inland if given a fairly good deep loam and a sunny position[11, 200]. Tolerant of maritime winds and dry soils when grown near the coast[11], plants require a moister soil and shelter from cold drying winds when they are grown inland in non-saline soils because they use the soil salts that are found in saline soils to help them reduce transpiration[200].
This species is not very hardy outdoors in Britain[1], but it succeed in the milder areas of the country, tolerating temperatures down to between -5 and -10° c[200].
This species flowers on the current year's growth[200]. Any pruning is best carried out in spring, hedges are also best trimmed at this time[188]. Plants are tolerant of severe pruning, sprouting freely from old wood[K].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame and only just cover the seed. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Very easy[200].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current seasons growth, 15 - 25cm long, planted outdoors in late autumn in a nursery bed or straight into their permanent position. High percentage[11, 200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for Tamarix articulata (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for the family Tamaricaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[223] Rottsieper. E.H.W. Vegetable Tannins The Forestal Land, Timber and Railways Co. Ltd. 1946
A fairly detailed treatise on the major sources of vegetable tannins.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

Tamarix aphylla

Elizabeth Powell (Libby_Powell@nps.gov) Tue Oct 26 20:04:46 1999

Dear Plants for a Future-

While researching the internet for information on Athel- Tamarix aphylla- I found your website and information on cultivation of athel. I wondered if you were aware that athel is a weed in many parts of the world and that suggesting that people grow it could be considered reasonably irresponsible. It is one of the major weeds of Western Australia and we are beginning to find it along rivers and lakes where we don't want it in Western U.S.- it spreads rapidly and is very expensive to get rid of. It was orignally planted as a shade tree- and populations remained stable for a long period of time, but now it starting to spread to remote areas. I am a botanist for Lake Mead National Recreation Area, in Nevada USA and we are just now recognizing what a monster we have unleased on our park. Sincerely, Elizabeth Powell

Cross references: Web-pages: Checklist of plants suitable for hedging and windbreaks: T-W, Trees and Shrubs for Shelterbelts: Q-U, PFAF: Edible Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Britain: S-T.

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