Tamaracks

Tamaracks Tamarix (tamarisk, aka "salt cedar") are invasive plants that have delicate flowering branches. They easily take over a moist environment near streams and ponds and drink up more than their fair share of the water causing surrounding plants to thirst. They also saturate the soil with a type of salt in which other plants cannot thrive.
Tamaracks begin blooming in early summer and fill the air with a beautiful fragrance.
The blossoms are pale pink to violet and so caught my interest. I put the dried blossoms in the crab tank repeatedly without ever being able to catch them in the act of eating it. Each time the dish was disturbed by being overturned, buried in sand, or its contents spread about. But I could not confirm that anyone had done more than dance around in it. Finally, the last portion that I put in disappeared completely with no traces, and the surrounding area remained undisturbed indicating that it was most likely eaten. The trial is not conclusive until I can visually confirm a crab eating the stuff, but I was eager to make some report about it. This entry will be edited as better results come to light. Perhaps the drying process dulls the fragrance and is therefore less attractive.

There is a nice photo of them here:
http://www.ucweeds.org/weedlist/tamarix/
UPDATE: 2/26/08 Trial finally received more conclusive results and the response was so positive that we've incorporated the blossoms and seeds into our product called Pond Scum. More trials need to be done on the greenery and bark.