| Salt cedar is deciduous shrub that can grow up to 15 feet in height. Leaves are small, scale-like, gray-green in color, and overlap along the stem. The bark is smooth and reddish on younger plants, turning brown and furrowed with age. Several species are considered invasive in the United States and distinguishing the species can often be difficult. Salt cedar invades streambanks, sandbars, lake margins, wetlands, moist rangelands, and saline environments. It can crowd out native riparian species, diminish early successional habitat, and reduce water tables and interferes with hydrologic process. Salt cedar is native to Eurasia and Africa and was introduced into the western United States as an ornamental in the early 1800s. It occurs throughout the western and central United States, but is most problematic in the Southwest. |
