Tamarix ramosissima

Saltcedar

Family: Tamaricaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Saltcedar is a naturalized shrub found in diverse California bioregions including the Klamath Ranges, San Joaquin Valley, Central Coast, southern coastal ranges, southwestern California, eastern Sierra Nevada, and desert regions at elevations below 2,000 meters, commonly growing in washes and along streambanks. Flowering from April to August, this invasive plant produces delicate pink to white flowers in small clusters less than one centimeter long. Growing as a multi-stemmed shrub up to 8 meters tall with dense, intricate branching, it forms thick stands in disturbed riparian areas. Its small, tightly overlapping leaves are narrow and lanceolate, measuring 1.5 to 3.5 millimeters long with pointed tips. The plant produces minute five-petaled flowers with tiny sepals, creating a feathery, soft appearance across its dense branching structure.

Habitat: Common. Washes, streambanks

Bloom period: Apr-Aug

Elevation: < 2000 m

Bioregions: KR, SnJV, CCo, SCoRO, SW, SNE, D

California counties: Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino, Ventura, Kern, Inyo, Imperial, San Luis Obispo, Orange, Santa Barbara, Mono, Kings, Merced, Monterey, Tuolumne, Yolo, Fresno, Glenn, Napa, Tulare, Solano, Colusa, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara

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