Salsola tragus L.
Russian thistle
Amaranthaceae (Amaranth family)
(Previously in Chenopodiaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Russian thistle
Amaranthaceae (Amaranth family)
(Previously in Chenopodiaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
© Gordon Neish (Photo ID #46880)
Species Information
General:
Annual herb from a fibrous root; stems ascending, solitary, freely branched, glabrous to hairy, purplish, 0.1-1.0 m tall, becoming hardened, ridged and rounded in late summer, then breaking at groundlevel to form "tumbleweeds".
Leaves:
Stem leaves alternate, linear, entire, succulent, spiny at the tip, reduced upward but broadened at the base, merging with papery-margined bracts.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of solitary or clustered flowers in the axils of the spiny bracts; calyces 5-parted, becoming winged or keeled on the back.
Fruits:
Thin, papery-walled, membranous envelopes, flattened, purplish, winged with prominent veins, cup-shaped.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Salsola tragus
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
525 | 279 | 890 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
22 | 0 | 70 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
214 | 23 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
2 | 0 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
36 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
BG | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(32), IDF(2), PP(2) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry roadsides, fields and waste places in the lowland, steppe and montane zones, frequent in S BC; introduced from Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Salsola australis R. Br.
Salsola iberica (Sennen & Pau) Botsch. ex Czerep.
Salsola kali L.
Salsola kali subsp. ruthenica (Iljin) Soó
Salsola kali subsp. tenuifolia Moq.
Salsola kali subsp. tragus (L.) Celak.
Salsola pestifer A. Nelson
Salsola ruthenica Iljin