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 Russian thistle, Salsola tragus L., commonly known as
tumbleweed has a long history of scientific name change. Examples are:
Synonyms: Salsola australis R. Brown Salsola iberica (Sennen
& Pau) Botschantzev ex Czerepanov
Salsola kali var. tenuifolia Tausch ex Moquin-Tandon Salsola
pestifer
This
branched annual herb has an efficient taproot, abundant seed production and
reduced leaf surface, well suited for agricultural terrain. Being widespread in the North American
West there have been popular songs about it.
Nevertheless, the thistle may contaminate seed and and develop toxins
harmful to domestic animals. There
are also some destructive insects that make a home in its branches. Finally, by "tumbling" onto
private property it requires labor to remove.
The
species is native in Siberia and southeastern Russia, and is believed to have
arrived in North America with flax seed around 1873. It quickly spread throughout Western North
America.
Biological control efforts against
this weed have been considered. Dr.
Mark Hoddle of UC-Riverside reported that a pith-boring moth and a
case-bearing moth have been established as biocontrol agents in California,
but thus far there has been no control observed. Additional insect enemies from the weed's native central Asia
could also be considered.
REFERENCES:
Allen, M. F., E. B. Allen & C. F. Friese. 1989. Responses of the non-mycotrophic plant
Salsolakali to invasion by vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. New Phytologist, 111 (1): 45-49.
Allen, E. B. 1982. Germination and
competition of Salsola kali with native C3 and C4 species under three
temperature regimes. Bulletin of the
Torrey Botanical Club: 39-46.
Becker, D. A. 1968. Stem abscission in the tumbleweed, Psoralea. American Journal of Botany. 55 (7): 753–756.
Dwyer, D. D. & K. Wolde-Yohannis. 1972.
Germination, Emergence, Water Use, and Production of Russian thistle
(Salsola kali L.). Agronomy Journal 64
(1): 52-55.
Gibson, David J.
2009. Grasses and grassland
ecology. Oxford University Press. p.
52.
Pammel, L. H. 1903. Some Weeds of Iowa. Experiment Station,
Iowa State College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts. page 477.
Renz, Mark J. -Continuous.
Management and restoration of areas infested with
Russian thistle and Kochia in southern New Mexico. New Mexico State University Reports.
Smith, Lincoln;
Marie-Claude Bon, Gaylord Desurmont, Javid Kashefi, Rene Sforza, Melanie Tannières, Massimo
Cristofaro, Francesca Marini, John Goolsby, Brian Rector, Bijana
Vidovic, Daniel Winkler & Patrick Moran.
2018. Pheno-com monitoring for
management of Salsola tragus
(Russian thistle). Report by: Sofia
Koutzoukis, Noah Teller, Darrel Jenerette & Travis Bean, Univ. of Califalifornia Riverside.
Takekawa, John; Tim Edmunds,
Bill Reynolds, Chris Potter &
Steven Chappell. 2020. Recent research on invasive weeds at the
European Biological Control Laboratory.
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural
Research Service Montferrier-sur-Lez, France.
Thompson, M. 2018.
Evaluating Opportunities and Barriers to Improving the Energy
Efficiency of Small Nebraska Wastewater Treatment Plants. pp. 83.
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