Saltcedar

Tamarix ramosissima

Found in brackish marshes, coastal hammocks, dunes and coastal sands, sand and gravel bars along rivers, disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

—

Not native

Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 76%

Height: 5–25 feet
Spread: 4–20 feet
Light: Full sun
Soil moisture: Dry to average

See native alternatives

No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…

Plant this instead

Your county or city

Choose your county to list local plants first.

Stiff Dogwood
Swida foemina
Sun: Full sun, Partial shade. Soil: Usually moist. Flowers: White.
Similar growth form, height, spread
Different: flower color
Smooth Sumac
Rhus glabra
Sun: Full sun, Partial shade. Soil: Somewhat dry to moist. Flowers: Green or white.
Similar growth form, height, spread
Mountain Maple
Acer spicatum
Sun: Full sun, Partial shade. Soil: Usually moist. Flowers: Yellow, green, pink or red.
Similar growth form, height, spread

Refine these alternatives in the finder

Check a whole list of plants

At a glance

Life cycle: Woody perennial
Leaves: Deciduous
Bloom: May to October

JFMAMJJASOND

Recorded in 2 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 4

Brackish marsh at a woodland edge. Shown: Fort Fisher, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Fort Fisher brackish marsh and woodland edge, ncwetlands.org, undated. CC0 1.0. Source record.

Dune grassland. Shown: Core Banks, Cape Lookout, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Core Banks dunes, June 2013, Jarek Tuszyński, June 2013. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source record.

Named place / source context. Shown: Watauga Falls, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Watauga Falls, Illustrator/engraver not confidently attributed; reproduced in Zeigler and Grosscup, The Heart of the Alleghanies (1883), 1883. Public domain. Source record.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Tamarix

Glena cognatariaBlueberry Gray
Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

—Specialist beesPollen specialists

—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Tamaricaceae
Hardiness: Zones 2a–9b
Soil pH: Acidic to alkaline
Flower color: Pink

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “May to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Pink” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Hardiness · “Zones 2a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Height · “5–25 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers differs)
Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
primary_flower_color · “pink” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Soil · “Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Spread · “4–20 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Conservation status

Virginia rank	SNA
Global rank	GNR
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source