Species

Myricaria germanica

Etymology

germanica: Of Germany

Common Name(s)

false tamarisk

Family

Tamaricaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

MYRGER

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Habitat

Terrestrial. Stony or muddy ground within braided river beds. (CHCCO-33498)

Features

Evergreen woody shrub growing up to 1.5m high. Upright and multi-branched from base. Small pink flowers at ends of branches in summer. Small green leaves give it an appearance similar to common tamarisk or conifer. (CHCCO-33498)

Similar Taxa

False tamarisk can look similar to young tamarisk trees (Tamarisk chinensis), but the trees have finer leaves and can grow up to 10 m tall.

Flowering

December, January, February

Flower Colours

Red / Pink

Year Naturalised

1999

Origin

Europe

Reason for Introduction

Accidental

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Perennial. Appears to be quite dominant in established areas, competing with and shading other species. Another woody invasive species to be aware of especially in braided river systems. Appears to have well developed dispersal techniques - probably by wind and possibly vegetatively. May spread downstream during floods. As areas get filled up with mud or silt each stem grows up through these layers and continues growing as a new plant. (CHCCO-33498)

Tolerances

Can survive flooding - may thrive under flood conditions to increase its spread. (CHCCO-33498)

This page last updated on 30 Jul 2014