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Tamarix chinensis

Common name:	Chinese Tamarisk	Family:	Tamaricaceae
Author:	Lour.	Botanical references:	11, 200
Synonyms:	Tamarix indica (non Willd.), Tamarix gallica (non L.), Tamarix elegans (Spach.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - China.
Habitat:	Roadsides and stream edges, mostly as the result of cultivation[147].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	T. juniperina[G] T. pentandra[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Ch'Eng Liu [E], Ch'Ieh Ch'Eng [E], Ch'Ui Liu [E], Ch'Ui Ssu Liu [E], Five-stamen Tamarisk [B], Fivestamen Tamarisk [P], Franse Tamarisk [D], French Tamarisk [P,B], Ho Liu [E], Salt Cedar [DEN2], San Ch'Un Liu [E], Tamarisco [E], Tamarisk [E,DEN1], Taray [E], Tch'Eng Lieou [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Violales. Tamarix family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Chile China Europe India Indochina Mexico Spain
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: Nevada, Washington.

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 4.5m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 7. It is in flower from July to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. 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, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Analgesic Antivinous Carminative Depurative Diuretic Febrifuge Vulnerary.

The leaves are analgesic, antipyretic, antivinous, carminative, depurative, diuretic, febrifuge[147, 218]. Aids measles rash surfacing[147].
The wood is used in the treatment of anthrax-like sores[218]
A manna from the plant is vulnerary[218].

Other Uses

Hedge.

Very tolerant of maritime exposure, it makes a good shelter hedge in coastal gardens.

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 flowers on the current year's growth[227]. 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].
Very closely related to T. ramosissima[11]. This plant is often mis-identified as T. gallica[50] or T. indica[200].
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.

References for Tamarix gallica (a possible synonym).

[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.
Images from the CalPhoto 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.

References for Tamarix indica (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.

[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.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.

[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.

[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.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[227] Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982 ISBN 0292780206
A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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