Salsola tragus
Family: Chenopodiaceae
Plant Description: Annual to 1 m or higher, forming clumps. Stems greenish with purple stripes. Lower leaves 3-5 cm long, threadlike, the upper leaves shorter, tapered to a short spine, alternate. Flowers solitary, axillary. Fruiting perianth, 3-6 mm wide with broadly winged tepals. Fruit are utricles (slightly flattened, one-seeded).
Plant Trivia: Native of Eurasia. Found all over U.S. except Alaska and Florida. Tumbling action of the wind is its seed dispersal mechanism.
Field Identification:
Occurrence: Occasional on various soils in waste places or along roads.
Bloom Period: April – October
Plant Use:
stxflora 