%% I want to use date palms for [[Temple Mage|Temple Mage]], so I looked up the tamarisk for [[2021-02-09 Tamarisk|a newsletter]] and it's really beautiful. %% # Tamarisk ![[tamarisk-tree.png|+side-left+tape-thumb]] It's commonly described as having a "feathery" appearance because of the small, scale-like leaves and the slim branches, but the fact that it has beautiful pink flowers is a big plus. They are very common trees and shrubs in the Middle East, especially in soils with high salt concentration and are therefore the only trees found on the shores of the Dead Sea. There are several species of tamarisk. The most commonly planted species and one which grows into a good sized tree is _Tamarix aphylla_. The tamarisk has small scale like leaves and small branches which give the tree a pine-like appearance. During the heat of the day the tamarisk secretes salt, a process very wasteful of water. The salt dries. During the night the salt absorbs water from the air. In the morning the water evaporates creating a sort of natural air-conditioning. This cooling effect is another reason for its popularity as a shade tree. Attractive pink or white flowers are produced during the winter, although a tree may flower any time during the year. The fruits are wind dispersed but the tamarisk is easily propagated by cuttings. ## Uses - The wood, combined with ibex horn, was used by the Saka (who might have been [[Scythian]]) to produce tremendously powerful bows hundreds of years before the common era. - Tamarisk and other "salt cedars" can be planted to basically mine salt from salty and brackish water. (the [source](https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Eichornia_crassipes.html) mostly deals with water hyacinth but whatever). ## In Literature ### Bible In addition to showing up in [[Ancient Mesopotamian Gardens|Ancient Mesopotamian gardens]] like the Hanging Gardens of [[Mesopotamia|Babylon]], they are mentioned in Genesis, Samuel, and Chronicles in the Bible. <blockquote class=paraphrase> <p>Abraham planted a tamarisk, probably because the trees were often used as memorials for great men. It is therefore appropriate that Abraham should honor God by planting the tamarisk. It would be a permanent memorial of the covenant between the two. (Genesis 21: 33). The tamarisk is one of the most common shrubs and trees in the vicinity of Beersheba.</p> <p>Saul held court under a tamarisk in Gibeah (I Samuel 22:6). This dark green tree would be evident from the hilltop and provide a sort of "address" for visitors and could probably be seen for miles.</p> <cite>-- <a href="https://ww2.odu.edu/~lmusselm/plant/bible/tamarix.php">Old Dominion University</a></cite> </blockquote> ### Shahnemeh _The Shahnameh (lit. ' 'The Book of Kings'') is a long epic poem (now the national epic of Greater Iran) written by the [[Persia]] poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE._ Only a tamarisk arrow to the eye can wound the otherwise invincible Prince Esfandiar. ==This is eerily similar to the mistletoe thing in Norse mythology, when the god Odin's son Baldur was prophesied to die and his mother Frigg got all the animals and plants of the natural world to swear not to harm him, but missed mistletoe. [[Article & Blog Idea]] / #articleseed/afterword maybe?)==