North American Salt Cedar Gardens Change Soil pH and Collect Salt

Summary: North American salt cedar gardens compensate disrupted food chains, groundwater access and riparian species with free salt and soil pH changes.

flowering salt cedar (Tamarix ramosissima): Steve Dewey, Utah State University, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0, via Forestry Images

Legislation in two provinces of southwestern Canada and in 11 states of the western United States applies unwelcome weed designations to introduced, non-native, ornamental, wind-breaking shrubs in North American salt cedar gardens.

Salt cedar's heavy groundwater use becomes problematic in riparian areas of Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Reduction in species diversity by covering riverbanks and by the woody plant's salt-secreting gland converting soil pH to alkaline ranges counts among criticisms of salt cedar. Salt cedar displaces cottonwood as the North American West's iconic tree and draws water by dropping its taproot all the way down into the water table.

The woody native of China, Iraq, Korea and Ukraine endures soil salts at 50,000 parts per million (ppm) and exudes salts onto its surroundings and itself.

Tiny seedlings in North American salt cedar gardens float from more drought-prone to less drought-sensitive niches in habitats where they flourish despite in-transit, 24-hour submergence experiences.

Germination within 24 hours of contact with water or wet soil generates the seedling's taproot within 24 hours and its embryonic leaves, called cotyledons, within 20. Salt cedar, described by German-Estonian botanist Karl Friedrich von Ledebour (July 8, 1786-July 4, 1851), handles 5.91-inch (15-centimeter) long roots on seedlings eight weeks after germination. The 4.33- to 4.72-inch (11- to 12-centimeter) heights increase until 13.12- to 26.25-foot (4- to 8-meter) ranges identify salt cedar as shrubs or as small trees.

Bark joins the branches, with their alternate, green scale-like, 0.06- to 0.14-inch- (1.5 to 3.5-millimeter-) long leaves, the trunk and the twigs into red-brown color schemes.

The salt-secreting glands in the foliage often keep the leaves white-speckled with salt, for tiny, winter snowflake-like looks around branching, pink flower-clustered, pyramid-shaped inflorescences called panicles.

Racemes, as 0.12- to 0.19-inch- (3- to 5-millimeter-) wide branches, with bloom times from June through August, load 20 flowers for every 0.98 inch (2.5 centimeters). Flowers with five sepals, five 0.04- to 0.07-inch- (1.1- to 1.8-millimeter-) long petals, four to 10 stamens and one pistil manage appearances by the third year.

The fruiting stage necessitates the yearly production of 2.5-plus billion seeds from eight- to 20-seeded, lance-shaped to oval, 0.12- to 0.19-inch- (3- to 5-millimeter-) long capsules.

Diameters less than 0.02 inches (0.5 millimeters) and hair-tufted ends called apices optimize 14- to 45-day viability of wind-dispersed seeds in North American salt cedar gardens.

Reproduction by resprouts, rhizomes and seeds provides salt cedar with multiple propagation means that push the perennial's life cycle well within 75- to 100-year life expectancies.

Eastern Asia's five-stamen salt cedar, northeastern Africa's and western Asia's Athel pine and southeastern Europe's small-flowered salt cedar qualify as salt cedar-related, weed-designated Tamaricaceae family members. Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas and Wyoming reduce the trio to weeds with salt cedar, commonly called tamarisk and scientifically Tamarix ramosissima (palm-like, very branched). Alberta and Saskatchewan and Colorado and North Dakota serve unwelcome weed status on five-stamen salt cedar and, along with Nebraska and Nevada, on small-flowered salt cedar.

North American salt cedar gardens thrive where gardeners and naturalists try to turn acid and neutral soils toward alkaline ranges and salt into natural pest control.

closeup of salt cedar (Tamarix ramosissima) flowers: Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Young/USDA NRCS Wetland Science Institute (WSI), Public Domain, via USDA NRCS PLANTS Database

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

flowering salt cedar (Tamarix ramosissima): Steve Dewey, Utah State University, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0, via Forestry Images @ http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=1624020

closeup of salt cedar (Tamarix ramosissima) flowers: Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Young/USDA NRCS Wetland Science Institute (WSI), Public Domain, via USDA NRCS PLANTS Database @ https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=TARA#

For further information:

Dickinson, Richard; and Royer, Francis. 2014. Weeds of North America. Chicago IL; London, England: The University of Chicago Press.

"Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb." Tropicos® > Name Search.
Available @ http://www.tropicos.org/Name/31100008

von Ledebour, Karl Friedrich. 1829. "4) Tamarix ramosissima. m." Flora Altaica, tomus I (Classis I.-V.): 424-426. Berolini [Berlin, Germany]: G. Reimeri [Georg Reimer], MDCCCXXIX.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6038725