A lovely species... it's hard to think of the saltcedars as 'invasive' when you see them managing in some of our bleakest locales; but certainly they are foreign.
Tamarisk was imported as a hardy, salt-tolerant desert ornamental. And, as you can see, it certainly is ornamental. Unfortunately, it's a little too hardy -- it's become invasive in the SW (altho I personally have only seen it in occasional small patches).
Tamarisk was imported as a hardy, salt-tolerant desert ornamental. And, as you can see, it certainly is ornamental. Unfortunately, it's a little too hardy -- it's become invasive in the SW (altho I personally have only seen it in occasional small patches). This patch was found near Red Rock State Park (geotag is best guess) in the Mojave desert in 1998, a spectacular year for desert wildflowers due to strong El Nino rains. Taken with a Nikon P&S film camera.
Can't avoid this one anywhere in the southwest...
This is an invasive plant that is running rampant over riparian areas of the US Southwest. It can outcompete the diverse native riparian habitat and replace it with a monoculture, decreasing diversity and also using up more water than the native plant community. There are many efforts to get rid of it, but the question as to what to do about tamarisk is a somewhat controversial one.
