tamarisk

noun tam·a·risk \ ˈta-mə-ˌrisk \

Updated on: 13 Apr 2018

Definition of 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

Note: Tamarisks are often considered weeds in North America where they thrive especially in arid or semiarid regions.

— called also salt cedar

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Recent Examples of tamarisk from the Web

Topping the Western Governor's terrestrial list was tamarisk, which lowers the water table and creates large deposits of salt in the soil, hence its common name of salt cedar, according to the National Invasive Species Information Center.

— phil drake, USA TODAY, "Feral cats listed among top invasive species in the West," 22 Mar. 2018
Jamison, a biologist now with the Colorado Plateau Research Station at Northern Arizona University, has long tracked the tamarisk leaf beetle through the Southwest.

— katherine mast, Discover Magazine, "The Beetle, the Bird and the Tamarisk Tree," 9 Mar. 2018
In one corner of the garden, the team came across a remarkable sight: a tamarisk shrub that stood upright, its roots and trunk still attached.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "First Evidence of Ancient Egyptian Funerary Garden Found in Luxor," 12 May 2017
Western states have spent a fortune trying to eradicate the tamarisk tree, which many experts believe hogs more than its share of water and damages the habitat of native species.

— erica goode, New York Times, "Invasive Species Aren’t Always Unwanted," 29 Feb. 2016
All of them talking acre-feet and reclamation guidelines and cooperation, wastewater efficiency, recycling, water banking, evaporation reduction and river covers, tamarisk and cottonwood and willow elimination.

— paolo bacigalupi, Wired News, "Exclusive: Read the First Chapter of Paolo Bacigalupi's New Novel The Water Knife," 27 May 2015
In one corner of the garden, the team came across a remarkable sight: a tamarisk shrub that stood upright, its roots and trunk still attached.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "First Evidence of Ancient Egyptian Funerary Garden Found in Luxor," 12 May 2017
But Julian D. Olden, an associate professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington, said tamarisks had been found to provide shelter for birds like the southwestern willow flycatcher.

— erica goode, New York Times, "Invasive Species Aren’t Always Unwanted," 29 Feb. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tamarisk.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.