Salsola tragus

Russian thistle, tumbleweed, Tumbleweed

Salsola tragus (Russian thistle), non-native California herb

Photo by Chez Brungraber

Family: Chenopodiaceae · Type: Herb · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Salsola tragus (Russian thistle) is a non-native California herb in the Chenopodiaceae family, recognized by red-striped stems, tumbling habit, persistent fruits.

Russian thistle is a naturalized annual found in California in disturbed places at elevations below 2,800 meters. Flowering from July to October, this plant produces small, inconspicuous flowers with whitish-green sepals. Growing up to 1.5 meters tall with branched, wiry stems often marked with red stripes, it develops a distinctive tumbling habit when dead, breaking off at the base and rolling across landscapes. Its leaves range from 8 to 52 millimeters long, becoming leathery with age, with sharp-pointed or spiny tips that widen at the base. When mature, the plant produces distinctive fruits with five wings, typically 2.9 to 8.4 millimeters in diameter, with veined and minutely toothed margins.

Identification and appearance

Key characters: 5 sympatric species; key features are red-striped stems, tumbling habit, persistent fruits

Habitat and range

Habitat: Common. Disturbed places

Elevation: < 2800 m

California counties: San Joaquin, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Merced, Fresno, Riverside, Kern, Plumas, Inyo, Siskiyou, Alameda, Tulare, San Benito, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Orange, San Luis Obispo, Mono, Contra Costa, Solano, Kings, Lake, Modoc, Madera, Santa Clara, Humboldt, Calaveras, Yolo, Butte, El Dorado, Alpine, Stanislaus, Amador, Santa Cruz, Colusa, Imperial, Lassen, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Shasta, Sonoma, Sutter, Tehama, Monterey, Nevada, Sacramento, San Francisco, Yuba, Glenn, Del Norte

Outside California: to eastern North America, Mexico, native to Eurasia

Bloom period

Salsola tragus blooms Jul-Oct.

Conservation status

Cal-IPC Yes

How to tell it apart

vs Suaeda: Salsola leaves taper to sharp spine tips; Suaeda leaves have soft rounded tips.; vs Amaranthus: Salsola has spine-tipped thread-like leaves; Amaranthus has broad soft leaves without spines.; vs Artemisia: Salsola has spine-tipped succulent leaves; Artemisia has soft, aromatic, often divided gray leaves.; vs Dittrichia: Salsola has spine-tipped cylindrical leaves; Dittrichia has soft sticky leaves and yellow daisy flowers.; vs Eriogonum: Salsola has spine-tipped thread-like leaves; Eriogonum has soft leaves clustered at base with woolly undersides.

Frequently asked questions

Is Salsola tragus native to California?

No. Salsola tragus is not native to California (recorded as not native).

When does Salsola tragus bloom?

Salsola tragus blooms Jul-Oct.

Where in California does Salsola tragus grow?

Salsola tragus occurs in San Joaquin, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Merced, Fresno, Riverside, Kern, Plumas and other counties, at elevations of < 2800 m.

What plant family does Salsola tragus belong to?

Salsola tragus is in the Chenopodiaceae family, genus Salsola.

Is Salsola tragus invasive in California?

Salsola tragus is listed by Cal-IPC with an invasiveness rating of Yes.

Related species

Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.

All Salsola species · All Chenopodiaceae

Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos

Last updated 2026-10-07

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.