Russian Thistle

Russian thistle is a

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

that can refer to: * '' Echinops exaltatus'', also known as ''Russian globe thistle'', is a globe thistle native to

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

and an invasive species in Eastern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and Northern

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. * ''

Salsola tragus ''Salsola tragus'', often known by its synonym is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is known by various Common name, common names such as prickly Russian thistle, windwitch, or common saltwort. It is widely known simp ...

'', formerly called ''

Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...

tragus'' or ''

Salsola kali ''Salsola kali'' is the restored botanical name for a species of flowering plants in the amaranth family that has been treated as ''Kali turgidum''. It is native to Macaronesia, and from the Atlantic coasts of Europe to the Baltic Sea and the Me ...

'' subsp. ''tragus'': a common weed of disturbed habitats, commonly known as ''prickly Russian thistle''. In the

, it is the most common and most conspicuous species colloquially called "

tumbleweed A tumbleweed is a structural part of the above-ground anatomy of a number of species of plants. It is a diaspore that, once mature and dry, detaches from its root or stem and rolls due to the force of the wind. In most such species, the tumbl ...

". It is an invasive species that is widespread throughout

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and many other continents. * ''

Salsola soda ''Soda inermis'', the opposite-leaved saltwort, oppositeleaf Russian thistle, or barilla plant, is a small (to 0.7 m tall), annual, succulent shrub that is native to the Mediterranean Basin.Tumbleweed A tumbleweed is a structural part of the above-ground anatomy of a number of species of plants. It is a diaspore that, once mature and dry, detaches from its root or stem and rolls due to the force of the wind. In most such species, the tumbl ...

, a diaspore formed by several ''

Salsola ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in Australia, central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. Common names of various members of this ...

'' species {{plant common name