Tumbleweed Profile

Tumbleweed (scientific name: Salsola tragus L.;), is an annual herb. It is called the "traveler" on the grassland. It is a common plant in the Gobi. When a drought comes, its roots will be collected from the soil, clumped together and drifting around in the wind. Its vitality is extremely strong, no matter how dry it will not let them die. One day they will find a suitable environment for their growth and then send out new branches, new buds, and lavender flowers. On both sides of the highway in the Gobi, you can often see them rolling in the wind when the wind blows.

Tumbleweed Picture

Tumbleweed Morphological characteristics

The Tumbleweed has coarse hairs and small nipple-like protrusions. Inflorescences are usually spike-shaped, sometimes paniculate; 1-flowered, rarely 2-3 flowers horizontally, flowers bisexual, radially symmetric, solitary or clustered in bract axils;

The fruit of Tumbleweed is cytocarp; the seeds grow horizontally, obliquely or upright.

Tumbleweed Growth Environment and Distribution

Tumbleweed itself is the most effective seed dispersal tool. The spherical shape of the tumbleweed allows it to roll and bounce on all the ground, and each bounce and roll can leave seeds along the way.

But tumbleweeds also have weaknesses: they run wherever the wind blows. Some pests will hitchhike and come to new places with tumbleweed to harm the locality.

Tumbleweed is born in river valley sands, deserts, gravel Gobi, roadside, farmland, beaches along the coast and river banks. Distributed in Eurasia, invasion of Central America, South America, Africa, Australia. The vertical growth height is 0-2500 meters above sea level.

Tumbleweed is classified as an invasive species

It is recognized as a harmful invasive species in North America, distributed in Alta, British Columbia, Canada; Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, SAR, United States, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada , New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington States, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming; and all of Mexico.

Unless blocked by fences, ditches, cornfields, buildings, dry irrigation canals, or sheltered by windbreaks, tumbleweeds will be blown all the way down by the wind. It will form a dry ball the size of a car! Because the tumbleweed has been dried by the sun before it rolls, and this thing is prickly and takes up space, it is very inefficient to tow away with trucks and trailers.

Spiritual metaphor of Tumbleweed

Someone has done such an experiment and put a transparent plastic tube on the roots of the tumbleweed to prevent the tumbleweed from falling off. Surprisingly, the roots of the tumbleweed started to stretch after the transparent plastic tube was put on the quilt. The height at which tumbleweed can fall off. Because the seeds of tumbleweed can only be scattered from the "grass ball" when they are rolling.

There is a kind of person in the world who lives in the tumbleweed way, or travels far away from home, or wanders in the world in his heart, looking for the person of his dreams, hoping to find the ideal paradise, so that he can deepen his roots. Wandering is just a means to find a home for yourself. However, some people find that the ideal paradise is so remote and vague. And he is like a tumbleweed, rolling around when the wind blows. When the wind was calm, he curled up in a corner and waited for the wind to rise again. This is a life that can make me sad: Where is the paradise I am looking forward to after so many years?

Wandering, a word that sounds a bit romantic. When I was young, I always wanted to carry my backpack and travel far away. Maybe I have my own dream somewhere in the distance. And that kind of wandering experience is the best topic I will narrate in the living room when I am old. It is this experience that makes me qualified to make some knowing smiles when touching Huafa.

I thought about it, so I did. The journey begins..................

Life is always a bit cruel. The journey is not calm, tired, injured, and timid. The wind, frost, snow and rain along the way wiped out the lofty ambition at the beginning. Come back home? A good choice, but not everyone can do this. So continue. The road still stretches under his feet, but his steps are getting harder and harder. The heart is getting more and more indifferent. Although there are beautiful scenery along the way, it is hard to move. I only longed for a place to rest. But looking coldly, although there are thousands of Taoyuan, where is the way home?

It's not that I can't find the way back, but I can't let go of the only dream in my heart, and I have been running for her until now. Can't give up and don't want to give up. Because once you give up, how can you give yourself an explanation for those past years, how to face your first tears in Lengyue's whereabouts. The longer the time, the stronger the belief. Cannot be changed easily. So I cautiously poked my head out in the corner where I was resting, looking at the sky, waiting for the wind to rise again and do the next drifting.

In fact, there is no need to worry about tumbleweed, it is a plant with extremely strong vitality. Nothing will let them die. One day they will find a suitable environment for their growth and then send out new branches, new buds, and faint purple flowers. I have seen it, although only once.