- Aug 23, 2018
- 79
- 44
Made familiar by songs recorded by Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Marty Robbins, and others, what could be more quintessentially American than that roly poly weed that scatters itself in the American West?
American you say? Nyet. America's tumbleweed is an invader from Russia.
America’s Tumbleweeds Are Actually Russian Invaders | Smart News | Smithsonian
"Today, tumbleweeds are a quintessential part of the American West, appearing in Western movies, songs, and traditions. But the tumbleweed, like many of the people who live out West, are not descendants of true U.S. natives. They arrived as invaders from Russia around 1870 and have been impossible to get rid of since.
"The weeds first arrived in Scotland, South Dakota, likely in seed form in a batch of flaxseed imported from Russia, Zocalo reports. Just 15 years later, the tumbleweed (also called the Russian thistle) had rolled its way to both Canada and California. Since then, stories abound of "tumbleweeds driving ranchers out of their homes through sheer abundance," Zocalo writes.
"The tumbleweed bane is hardly a thing of the past, however. In particularly bad years, often coupled with strong winds or storms, tumbleweeds still plague plains towns. One town in New Mexico, for example, was recently buried in tumbleweeds."
Where Do Tumbleweeds Come From? | Essay | Zócalo Public Square
"Tumbleweeds, like the San Joaquin Valley, are misunderstood and full of surprises. While the plants are best known from their appearances in Westerns and Americana of the region, and tend to symbolize an untamed landscape, they are in fact foreign invaders, and rely on human development to spread.
"The term “tumbleweed” can refer to any one of a variety of species, like Russian thistle and kochia. Generally, these plants are bushy and round, and their stem breaks off at the ground in the fall or winter, often after a frost. Then they get carried off by the wind, scattering seeds as they go. Some of these plants can hold hundreds of thousands of seeds. Gary Larson, a botanist at South Dakota State University, recalls that during his graduate study in North Dakota, he tracked a tumbleweed by the trail of seedlings it had scattered.
"One type of tumbleweed, though, remains the most notorious—the plant you’ve probably seen in Westerns bouncing along the dusty ground. It goes by the name of Russian thistle, or Salsola tragus. This irksome rogue hails from the steppes of central Asia, and likely stowed away in a batch of flaxseed from Russia, arriving in the mid-1870s to the charmingly named town of Scotland, South Dakota.
"In the 1890s, a U.S. Department of Agriculture botanist named Lyster Hoxie Dewey was sent from Washington, D.C. to South Dakota to learn more about this weed, which had been causing problems amongst ranchers and quickly spreading, as National Geographic reported.
“'The rapidity with which the Russian thistle has spread, both in infesting new territory and in thoroughly covering that already infested, far exceeds that of any weed known in America,” Dewey wrote. People told stories of tumbleweeds driving ranchers out of their homes through sheer abundance. The weeds to this day can cause problems like car accidents and are more than capable of knocking over fences.
"By that time, it was already too late to halt the tumbleweed’s spread, and it could be found as far away as Canada—and California, by 1885. Today, tumbleweeds are present in every state except for Alaska and Florida (which is really quite a notable distinction, considering that Florida is famous for its invasive species, from Burmese pythons to lionfish). But tumbleweeds are most plentiful and obnoxious in the Great Plains, from North Texas to the Dakotas and west to the Rockies."
American you say? Nyet. America's tumbleweed is an invader from Russia.
America’s Tumbleweeds Are Actually Russian Invaders | Smart News | Smithsonian
"Today, tumbleweeds are a quintessential part of the American West, appearing in Western movies, songs, and traditions. But the tumbleweed, like many of the people who live out West, are not descendants of true U.S. natives. They arrived as invaders from Russia around 1870 and have been impossible to get rid of since.
"The weeds first arrived in Scotland, South Dakota, likely in seed form in a batch of flaxseed imported from Russia, Zocalo reports. Just 15 years later, the tumbleweed (also called the Russian thistle) had rolled its way to both Canada and California. Since then, stories abound of "tumbleweeds driving ranchers out of their homes through sheer abundance," Zocalo writes.
"The tumbleweed bane is hardly a thing of the past, however. In particularly bad years, often coupled with strong winds or storms, tumbleweeds still plague plains towns. One town in New Mexico, for example, was recently buried in tumbleweeds."
Where Do Tumbleweeds Come From? | Essay | Zócalo Public Square
"Tumbleweeds, like the San Joaquin Valley, are misunderstood and full of surprises. While the plants are best known from their appearances in Westerns and Americana of the region, and tend to symbolize an untamed landscape, they are in fact foreign invaders, and rely on human development to spread.
"The term “tumbleweed” can refer to any one of a variety of species, like Russian thistle and kochia. Generally, these plants are bushy and round, and their stem breaks off at the ground in the fall or winter, often after a frost. Then they get carried off by the wind, scattering seeds as they go. Some of these plants can hold hundreds of thousands of seeds. Gary Larson, a botanist at South Dakota State University, recalls that during his graduate study in North Dakota, he tracked a tumbleweed by the trail of seedlings it had scattered.
"One type of tumbleweed, though, remains the most notorious—the plant you’ve probably seen in Westerns bouncing along the dusty ground. It goes by the name of Russian thistle, or Salsola tragus. This irksome rogue hails from the steppes of central Asia, and likely stowed away in a batch of flaxseed from Russia, arriving in the mid-1870s to the charmingly named town of Scotland, South Dakota.
"In the 1890s, a U.S. Department of Agriculture botanist named Lyster Hoxie Dewey was sent from Washington, D.C. to South Dakota to learn more about this weed, which had been causing problems amongst ranchers and quickly spreading, as National Geographic reported.
“'The rapidity with which the Russian thistle has spread, both in infesting new territory and in thoroughly covering that already infested, far exceeds that of any weed known in America,” Dewey wrote. People told stories of tumbleweeds driving ranchers out of their homes through sheer abundance. The weeds to this day can cause problems like car accidents and are more than capable of knocking over fences.
"By that time, it was already too late to halt the tumbleweed’s spread, and it could be found as far away as Canada—and California, by 1885. Today, tumbleweeds are present in every state except for Alaska and Florida (which is really quite a notable distinction, considering that Florida is famous for its invasive species, from Burmese pythons to lionfish). But tumbleweeds are most plentiful and obnoxious in the Great Plains, from North Texas to the Dakotas and west to the Rockies."
