Word: tamarisk
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...best be translated, "Whatta?") Scripture describes manna as "a fine and flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground," which falls with the dew but melts when the sun grows hot. In June in the Sinai peninsula, a plant louse that feeds on the fruit of the tamarisk tree secretes a yellow honey-like substance that congeals in the cool of the evening but melts in the day. The similarity is not lost on the locals: for at least 500 years they have peddled it to religious pilgrims, most recently under the brand name Mannite...
Another plant is overrunning parts of the Southwest, including the Grand Canyon. Introduced about 70 years ago to act as an erosion fighter and windbreak, the tamarisk tree has taken over about 81,000 hectares (200,000 acres), pushing out native trees and threatening eight species of birds that nest in them. The Grand Canyon's major animal offenders are burros; turned loose by prospectors generations ago, they have grown into vegetation- devouring herds...