多花柽柳 duo hua cheng liu

Shrubs or small trees, 1-3(-6) m tall. Branches of previous year dark red-purple. Leaves of vegetative branches linear-lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, small, 2-3.5 mm, base semiamplexicaul, margin scarious, slightly dentate, apex long acuminate or acute, mucronate, incurved; those of growing branches nearly amplexicaul, ovate-lanceolate, base enlarged, decurrent, apex acuminate. Flowers blooming from spring to summer (to autumn). When blooming in spring, racemes lateral in growing branches of previous year, mostly several clustered, 1.5-9 cm × 3-5(-8) mm, without peduncles or peduncles ca. 2 cm; when blooming in summer, racemes terminal in young branches of current year, clustered in lax or dense short panicles; bracts linear-oblong, linear, or obovate-oblong, slightly carinate, 1-2 mm, slightly exceeding pedicels, or equaling calyx, rarely slightly longer, often thinly membranous, apex acute. Pedicels equaling or slightly exceeding calyx. Flowers 5-merous. Sepals ovate-orbicular, ca. 1 mm, margin membranous, dentate, apex obtuse; inner 3 slightly more obtuse than outer 2. Petals rose or pink, ovate or ovate-elliptic, 1.5-2(-2.5) × 0.7-1 mm, ca. 2 × as long as calyx, carinate at least in lower half, apex subrounded, often contacting each other and thus corolla globose, persistent in fruit. Disk purple-red, thick, 5-fid; lobes obtuse or retuse at apex. Stamens 5, equaling or ca. 1/3 exceeding petals; filaments gradually narrowing and slender, inserted between disk lobes; anthers cordate, apex obtuse or mucronate. Styles 3, clavate-spatulate, ca. 1/2 or rarely 1/3-3/5 as long as ovary. Capsule 4-5 mm, ca. 4 × exceeding calyx. Fl. May to early Jun, autumn. 2n = 24*.

Forests on river banks in deserts, salty soils of river banks, lakesides in deserts. Gansu, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang [Mongolia; C and SW Asia].

Baum (Gen. Tamarix, 44. 1978) considered this species to be conspecific with Tamarix smyrnensis Bunge.