458 ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



Ta'marix. Stamens 4 5. Hairs on the seeds simple. 

 MvRiCA^RiA. Stamens 10. Hairs on the seeds feathery. 



Genus I. 



TA'MARIX Desv. The Tamarisk. Lin. Syst. Pentandria Trigynia. 



Identification. Desv. Ann. Sc. Nat., 4. p. 34S. ; Dec. Prod., 3. p. 95. ; Don's :\!ill., 2. p. 725. | 



Synonymes. The species of TSmarix of authors that have 4 stamens and 5 stamens ; Tamaris, Fr. ; 



Tamarisken, Ger. ; Tamarice, Ital. 

 Derivation. So called, according to some, from the plants growing on the banks of the river Tama- 

 ras, now Tamhra, on the borders of the Pyrenees ; or, according to others, from the Hebrew 

 word tamaris, cleansing, on account of their branches being used for brooms. 



Gen. Char. Calyx 4 3-parted. Petals 4 ,5. Stamens 4 5, alternating with ! 

 the petals, almost free. Ovarium tapering to the apex. Sfignias 3, long, > 

 divaricate, glandular, and oblique at the apex. Seeds erect, in.-.eited nearly , 

 at the base of the valves ; tufted ; tuft composed of numerous simple hairs , 

 ai'ising from the apex. (Don's 3Ii/l.) 



Leaves simple, alternate, exstipulate, deciduous or sub-evergreen ; linear, i 

 stem-clasping, very small ; adult ones diaphanous at the apex. Flowers j 

 in spikes, and usually disposed in panicles, small, red, seldom white. | 



Tall shrubs, natives of Europe, the North of Africa, and the West of Asia ; I 

 sub-evergreen in British gardens ; and highly valuable, as standing the sea 

 breeze in situations where few other ligneous plants, and no other flowering 

 shrubs, will grow. The whole plant is very bitter, and the young shoots were 

 formerly employed as a tonic, and as a substitute for hops in brewing beer. 



Sk m ^. T". ga'llica L. The French Tamarisk. j 



Identification. Un. Sp., 386. ; MUl. Ic. ; Dec. Prod., 3. p. Ofi. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 726. _ j 



Synonymes. T. narbon^nsls LoA. 7c. 2. t. 218. ; 7'amariscus gallicus /IW. ; Tamariscus pentandrus , 



Lam. Ft. Fr., not of Pall. ; Mirice, Ital. I 



Engravings. N. Du Ham., vol. vii. t. 59. ; and our^g. 819. 



Spec. Char., fc. Glabrous, glaucous. Leaves minute, clasping the 

 stem or branch, adpressed, acute. Spikes of flowers lateral, 

 somewhat panicled, slender, 3 times longer than broad. {Bee. 

 Prod.) A sub-evergreen shrub, frequcjnt in sandy places in 

 the middle and South of Europe, and in the South of England. '^Mitf 

 Height 3 ft to 10 ft., sometimes twice that height. Flowers n^ ^H^^ 

 pinkish ; May to October. ^ ^^^'"^ j 



Varieties. In the Linncea, 2. p. 267., 6 varieties are described, for g,g j. g^mca. j 

 which we refer to our first edition, as the plants are not in cul- ! 



tivation in Britain, and indeed appear to us not worth keeping distinct. I 



T. gallica prefers a deep, free, sandy soil ; and will only attain a large size ' 

 when it is in such a soil, and sup[)lied with moisture from the proximity of some 

 river, or other source of water. It is valuable as thriving on the sea siiore, where 

 few other shrubs will grow ; as being sub-evergreen ; and as flowering late in ^ 

 the season, and for several months together. It is readily propagated by cut- , 

 tings, planted in autumn, in a sandy soil, with a northern exposure. In j 

 favourable situations in France and the South of Europe, it grows to the i 

 height of 13 or 20 feet ; and there are instances, both in Britain and on the 

 Continent, of its growing as high as 30 ft., and this, we suppose, has given risC; 

 to the alleged variety, T. g. arborea. In the South of Russia, and in Tartary, ! 

 the species assumes a great variety of forms according to the soil and situa-, 

 tion ; the tops of the dwarf plants are there eaten by sheep, and the stems ofj 

 the larger ones used as handles for whips. ! 



