Salsola kali ssp. pontica

Common Name: prickly Russian thistle

Family: Amaranthaceae

Common Synonyms: Salsola kali

USDA Hardiness Zone: 4b-11

Growth Habit: Herb

Origin: Russia

FISC Category: -

FDACS Listed Noxious Weed: No

Introduction Date: Introduced to US in the 1870s.

IFAS Assessment:

• North: OK
• Central: OK
• South: OK

Description

Annual herb 5-150 cm tall and wide. Stems dense, erect to ascending, branched from base, branches curved into an arc or, occasionally, almost prostrate. Stems with red or purple stripes on young plants. Leaves alternate, linear, cylindrical or awl-shaped, 1.3-6.5 cm by 1-2 mm, with a spine at tip. Flower solitary, small, greenish to white, petals lacking. Perianth segments with comparatively narrow wing or sometimes prominently winged, with weak acute apex, glabrous, midvein obscure. Fruiting perianth 4-6(-8) mm diameter.

Habitat

Beaches

Comments

When the plant is mature, it breaks off at the ground forming tumbleweeds that are tossed by the wind, scattering seeds. A single plant can produce 100 - 200,000 seeds.

Control Methods

• Manual: Mechanical: Pull or uproot young plants or hoe just below ground level before seed set.
• Chemical: Glyphosate can provide control of Salsola kali. Apply the herbicide before seed set.
• Biological: NA

Control Notes

NA

References

Dave's Garden. 2014. PlantFiles: Russian thistle, Salsola kali. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/31911/. Accessed on June 24, 2014

Flora of North America. Vol. 4 Page 399, 400, 401. http://efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242415637. Accessed on June 24, 2014.

Morisawa, T. Salsola kali. BugwoodWiki. 2014. http://wiki.bugwood.org/Salsola_kali. Accessed on June 24, 2014.