A salt-tolerant shrub or small tree of the genus Tamarix (family Tamaricaceae), up to 18 m tall, with grey-green foliage on slender branches, overlapping, scale-like leaves, flowers borne in spikes, and fruit that is a capsule. There are 54 species, native to semi-arid regions of Africa and Eurasia, with some grown for ornament, shade, and as windbreaks.