The Cycloloma atriplicifolium , a staple of previous westerly movies and a symbol of the American West to many , is a plant that is not even native to North America . Instead , the tumbleweed is a native of the steppe terrain of Russia , giving lift to another of its common name , Russian thistle . The tumbleweed , agree to the Desert USA web site , come to South Dakota in seed form by fortuity in 1877 and then propagate across all the westerly nation .
Immature Tumbleweeds
The tumbleweed count very dissimilar when immature than it does when it matures . A tumbleweed can acquire to 3.5 feet high , and its legion forking base will have stripe of purple - bolshy . The leave on the unripened tumbleweed resemble those of a pine tree , almost acerate leaf - like in appearance . As the tumbleweed develops , the leaves become narrow and a morose green people of color and are about one inch long . At this degree of the winged pigweed ’s growth , it is a suited forage plant for livestock such as sheep , cows and Equus caballus . The Utah State University Range Plants of Utah site describes the tumbleweed as " soft and succulent " during this phase of its growth .
Later Growth
From July through October , the tumbleweed changes as it matures . The old folio will develop a pointy wind and become tighten ; this help them to conserve moisture in times of drought . Pinkish to greenish modest efflorescence , which possess no petals , come out between a pair of modify leaves known as bracts . The University of California Integrated Pest Management website enjoin these feature protect the seeds that the bloom suffer from hungry birds and animals .
Time to Tumble
By the sentence a tumbleweed is mature , it can be as small as a foot and a half across or have a width of six invertebrate foot . The size of it depends on the growing conditions , with such factors as wet levels and the quality of the grime playing authoritative roles . The plant life will then dry out , and the base of the stem to which the principal body of the tumbleweed attaches will break , allow the dry out - up tumbleweed , now look like a skeleton of itself , to follow the route the winds take it on — a trait that gives the plant its name .
Seeding
As the wind train the Salsola kali tenuifolia here and there , the plant life will disperse its semen . The rounded physique allows the Russian thistle to roll wherever the ground is bland or free of obstruction . As the plant roll , the seeds begin to disperse . A undivided tumbleweed plant may produce as many as a fourth part of a million semen . You may actually be capable to distinguish where a tumbleweed rolled in the spring when the seedlings that it scatter commence to bound up across a field .
Growing Conditions
Once the temperature and the availability of water cause a tumbleweed seed to germinate , the plant grow cursorily . The tumbleweed apace puts down a extended taproot to gather any wetness in the ground . The tumbleweed will not do well in hard ground and typically flourishes in place like vacant mickle , along fence lines , along the side of the road and in forsake flying field .
