Tamarix gallica

French tamarisk

Family: Tamaricaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

French tamarisk is a naturalized shrub found in coastal California regions including the Coast Ranges, San Francisco Bay Area, and Southern California coastal areas at elevations below 300 meters in washes, flats, and roadsides. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces pale pink to white flowers in delicate, elongated clusters 1.4 to 5 centimeters long. Growing as a multi-stemmed shrub or small tree to 5 meters tall, it has slender, closely spaced branches with small, scale-like leaves. Its tiny leaves are lanceolate, approximately 1.5 to 2 millimeters long, creating a soft, feathery appearance along the branches. The flowers feature five small, pointed sepals and five delicate petals, with stamens that blend into a subtle nectary disk.

Habitat: Uncommon. Washes, flats, roadsides

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: < 300 m

Bioregions: CCo, SnFrB, SCo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.