The Collaborative International Dictionary
Tamarisk salt tree
Tamarisk \Tam"a*risk\, n. [L. tamariscus, also tamarix, tamarice, Skr. tam[=a]la, tam[=a]laka, a tree with a very dark bark; cf. tamas darkness: cf. F. tamarisc, tamarix, tamaris.] (Bot.) Any shrub or tree of the genus Tamarix, the species of which are European and Asiatic. They have minute scalelike leaves, and small flowers in spikes. An Arabian species ( Tamarix mannifera) is the source of one kind of manna.
Tamarisk salt tree, an East Indian tree ( Tamarix orientalis) which produces an incrustation of salt.