Tamarix
chinensis
Shrubs or small trees. Lvs. alternate, entire, thickish, small, scalelike, exstipulate. Fls. regular, bisexual, small, 4-5 merous. Sepals free or +/- united. Petals imbricated, sometimes withering and persistent. Stamens as many or twice as many as petals, free or united, inserted on a fleshy disk. Ovary 1-celled; styles 3-5; placentae 3-5, parietal. Caps. 3-5 valved; seeds many, usually with terminal tuft of hairs. Genera 4; species about 100. (Munz, Flora So. Calif. 843).
Upper Newport Bay species within the family: