tamarisk

:  any of a genus (Tamarix of the family Tamaricaceae, the tamarisk family) of deciduous large shrubs and small trees native to Asia and the Mediterranean region and widely naturalized in North America that have tiny, scalelike leaves and feathery racemes of small, white to pink flowers ◆Tamarisks are often considered weeds in North America where they thrive especially in arid or semiarid regions. To survive in arid areas where the groundwater is saline, tamarisks have evolved the ability to get rid of salt by pumping it out onto their leaves. — Josie Glausiusz … tamarisk has been so successful that it is now the dominant plant in most desert riparian areas, blanketing more than a million acres in 15 states. — Sharon Cohoon —called also salt cedar