146 THE STORY OF PLANT LIFE 



The petals do not fall till the fruit is ripe, but the 

 fruit rarely ripens in this country. Mr. Clement 

 Reid states that he did not find it till the drought of 

 igii. The flower-buds are ovoid. The anthers are 

 heart-shaped, with a short apiculus. The capsule is 

 three-angled or rounded below, narrower at the 

 top. 



The Tamarisk flowers betw^een July and Septem- 

 ber, and is a perennial shrub. It is from 5 to 10 ft. 

 high. 



The stamens are hypogynous and inserted on the 

 disc. There are ten honey-glands. The flowers are 

 small, with two to five short styles and stalkless 

 stigmas. 



From the rarity of the fruit and the mechanism of 

 the flowers, which, though small, are arranged in a 

 long catkin, it would seem that the Tamarisk is 

 usually self-pollinated. As a general rule there are 

 not many insects along the coast, and maritime 

 plants are placed at a disadvantage. 



The capsule opens by three valves, and the seeds 

 have a tuft of cottony hairs at the top and on the 

 borders, and are adapted to dispersal by aid of the 

 wind. 



Tamarisk is so called because it abounds in the 

 region of the river Tamaris, in Spain. 



It yields manna and galls. The ashes of the burnt 

 wood yield soda. 



Cypress, Heath, Ling, Tamarisk, are the names by 

 which this plant is known. 



