Welcome to Catnapin's

Tree and Shrub Gallery

Conifer-Like

Tamaricaceae - Tamarisk family

Salt-cedar (Five-stamen Tamarisk, Manna-bush) Tamarix pentandra

This is not a conifer.  Leaves are very small, covering short branches giving a cedar-like appearance.  Flowers are in soft pink spikes with multiple spikes along one branch.  Usually this is a tall shrub but can be 30 feet tall.

Photos taken in Taylor County, Texas, April 2005

(Introduced from Europe)

Ephedraceae - Ephedra family

Erect Ephedra Ephedra antisyphilitica

At first glance, this bush looks like a dwarfed conifer, but it is not a conifer.  Plant has spreading limbs and reaches about 3 feet tall.  New branches look like green, long, round leaves.  They come out at old, woody, growth nodes.  Leaves are tiny.  Reddish Flower "buds" are 1/4" long, cone shaped that grow at young stem nodes.  5-8 tiny yellow flowers protrude from the sides of each cone.

Photos taken in Taylor County, Texas, plant August 2004, flowers May 2005

(Native of Texas)

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