Tamarix | salt cedar

Salt cedar is a transplant from Europe/Asia, originally brought here for stream bank stabilization and ornamental decoration. The deep tap roots are very effective for seeking out ground water (and the associated salts). A mature salt cedar plant can consume 200 gallons of water per day. Salt Cedar has a unique ability to utilize the water and excrete the salts onto the outer surface of its leaves. These leftover salts are subsequently returned to the soil surface during precipitation events.

The cumulative effect of this salt deposition has a sterilizing effect on the soils in the immediate vicinity of the plant or group of plants; thereby making the site unsuitable for other plants (including native vegetation), as well as reducing competition from other more desirable plants like native species of willows and other shrubs.

Salt Cedar is incredibly aggressive and now inhabits hundreds of thousands of acres in the South-west United States. Efforts to control the spread are underway. Among the strategies are flooding, chopping, burning, broad scale foliar application of herbicide and cutting branches and immediately spraying the stumps. UCweeds encourages the last because it is cost efficient, effective (90% kill) and the fact that it is the least invasive and lowest level of disturbance. It also allows for being very selective with which plants are removed.