Tamaricaceae

Tamaricaceae 

a family of dicotyledonous plants; usually small trees or bushes, sometimes semibushes. The leaves are regular, small, and usually subulate or scaly. The flowers are as a rule small and bisexual; the racemes come in brush, circular, or broom shapes. The perianth has four to five cupped petals, which may be joined or free of each other. There may be four to ten stamens or many more, separate or joined by filaments. The gynecium contains three or four or two to five carpels; the fruit is podlike. There are three or four genera with about 120 species, found in Eurasia and Africa, chiefly in the Mediterranean and Central and Middle Asia. Tamaricaceae grow on more or less saline soils in the steppes, semiarid and desert regions, on the shores of bodies of water, and also on dry mountain slopes. In the USSR there are about 40 species of the genera Tamarix, Reaumuria (12 species), and Myricaria (six species). Some types are used for fuel, for plaiting various articles, as decorative plants, and to fix soil. Tamaricaceae contain tanning and dyeing substances in their bark. Some varieties are eaten by camels, sheep, and goats.

REFERENCES

Gorshkova, S. G. “Grebenshchikovye.” In Flora SSSR, vol. 15. Moscow-Leningrad, 1949.
Hutchinson. J. The Genera of Flowering Plants, vol. 2. Oxford. 1967.

M. E. KIRPICHNIKOV