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 (T. mannifera) is the source of one kind of manna.

Tamarisk salt tree, an East Indian tree (Tamarix orientalis) which produces an incrustation of salt.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)