Non Native Plant in Utah Is Now Getting Bigger and More Obnoxious

The tumbling tumbleweed is a part of the west that so much that seeing one drift across a movie screen lets you know it's a western. Ironically, no cowboy from the 1800s would even recognize this thorny plant. 

The First Report of Tumble Weeds Was in South Dakota 

Prior to 1880 There weren’t any tumbleweeds in America. This plant is actually native to Russia, and the seeds probably came from a flax shipment. They quickly found ripe soil to grow and in just a decade they had spread far from that state. 

It was Buffalo Bill and his Wild West Show that tied the tumbleweed to the cowboy life. This traveling show was a big deal at the time and his use of the rolling weed to decorate his shows, engrained the tumbleweed as part of the cowboy world. 

Later, when movies dramatized cowboys and cattlemen, the rolling tumbleweed helped set the scene. Ironically, it would have reminded real cowboys of Russia because that was the only place to see them. 

Tumbleweeds are Growing in Size 

These plants have become a real invasive pest. You have probably seen homes and vehicles smothered in mountains of tumbleweeds. They grow in exposed dirt in new constructions sites or recently harvested fields. 

They are also a problem during forest fires. The dry weed is highly flammable and can bounce along with the wind, spreading the fire. If that isn’t bad enough, there is a new version of this thistle plant. 

Read More: Don't Squish This Invasive Bug in Utah

It is called the Salsola Ryanii and starts at 6 feet high and grows bigger from there. This thing is so big, it would knock over a cowboy and his horse. Add it to the list of worrying developments in our modern world.