ORDINARY TAMARISK
Tamarix gallica
ITALIAN MONUMENTAL TREE In a sheet of the herbarium in the botanical collection of Federico Craveri we can see a small branch of tamarisk with a caption below saying: ”Bra home vegetable garden, 19th May 1863”. Today the Tamarisk tree is still existing and exactly 156 years later, its trunk measures nearly three meters in diameter; it has been included in the list of Italy’s monumental trees. This species does not normally achieve a large size, its age rarely exceeds 100 years and it is a typically Mediterranean plant and it was planted as an ornamental tree out of its original area; considering all these elements this ordinary Tamarisk tree (Tamarix gallica) which lives in the Museum garden can be considered as exceptional specimen.This plant is typical of the sea coast, it grows wild in the western Mediterranean sea from the Canary island to Dalmatia. It prefers sandy environments, which are consolidated thanks to its roots and it a is a halophyte, which means that it has the capacity to survive in brackish water environments. Flowers appear before the leaves from May to June, they are pink, small and extremely numerous with inflorescences similar to long plumes.
