Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Salsola tragus
FAMILY
Chenopodiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Russian Thistle at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Salsola tragus
FAMILY
Chenopodiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Kali tragus ssp. tragus
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Salsola tragus
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 064-07-001?:
Salsola kali FAMILY Chenopodiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Salsola kali var. tenuifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Salsola pestifer
COMMON NAME:
Russian Thistle, Tumbleweed
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_sape10_001_lvd
)
USDA / Selected Weeds of the US. 1970 swus_page_139
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Salsola tragus
FAMILY
Chenopodiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Salsola tragus
FAMILY
Chenopodiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Kali tragus ssp. tragus
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Salsola tragus
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 064-07-001?:
Salsola kali
FAMILY
Chenopodiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Salsola kali var. tenuifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Salsola pestifer
3844
Forb
Annual
Habitat: Disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Eurasia
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Leaves with a weak apical spine ("mucro")
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Green
5 sepals
Petals absent
5 stamens
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Utricle
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p487
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p264
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".