- This article is about the plant. "Tumbleweed" was a hit for the cowboy singing group Sons of the Pioneers.
Tumbleweed (also known as "Russian Thistle", though not related to thistles) is a plant in the Goosefoot family. It breaks away from its roots in the autumn, and is driven by the wind, as a light, rolling mass, over the fields and prairies, scattering its seeds far and wide. Prairie tumbleweed produces its seeds in such profusion that the plant doesn't bother with protective coatings or food reserves for the coiled plant embryos.
Tumbleweed is also known as saltwort, though that name is also used for the unrelated Batis maritima.
This salt-tolerant Siberian alien listed among "noxious weeds" by the U.S. Department of Agriculture was first reported in the United States around 1877 in Bon Homme County, South Dakota, apparently transported as a stowaway in flax seed imported by Ukrainian farmers. South Dakota proved harsh and dry for growing flax, but by 1900, Salsola had tumbled to the Pacific Coast. It was also actively introduced by the U.S.D.A., under the impression that cattle might be induced to eat it in hard times during droughts. Palatability of the young shoots is considered to be fair. Cattle, sheep, and horses will eat it, if nothing better is available. Small rodents and Pronghorn also graze on the young shoots.
Tumbleweed thrives wherever land use has disturbed the soil. It can be seen in Death Valley, California and in Colorado at elevations of 8500 feet.
Tumbleweed has naturalized to the point where it is regarded by many as native, changing the North American Great Plains plant community forever. It is controlled with mass applications of herbicides. Amusingly, tumbleweed is such a common device in Westerns, where it's used to indicate an abandoned area, that it is generally associated with the American Old West, despite its Russian origin.
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