Undershrubs or shrubs, rarely trees or perennial herbs, mostly halophytic. Leaves alternate, small, sessile, usually scale-like, mostly with salt secreting glands. Stipules absent. Flowers in spikes, racemes or panicles, rarely solitary axillary, actinomorphic, bisexual, rarely unisexual, then plants dioecious, 5- or 4-merous, hypogynous. Sepals 5 or 4, imbricate, connate below, persistent. Petals 5 or 4, free, white, pink, purple or violet. Stamens 4 or 5-13 or numerous, inserted on or below the annular glandular disc, usually free or connate into staminal tube (monoadelphous) or in 5 fascicles; anthers bithecous, obtuse or apiculate, dehiscence by longitudinal slits. Pistil 1, consisting of (2-)3-5 carpels; ovary superior, 1- locular or imperfectly septate, placentation parietal or basal, ovules few to many; styles (2)3-5, free or united, short or absent. Capsule conic, 3-5-angled, dehiscent by valves as many as styles from apex to base. Seeds many, densely covered with long hairs all over or awned at apex, awns puberulous from base or from middle.

4 genera 56 species

Tamarix indica