Tumbleweeds are considered one of the distinct plants of the
Desert Southwest of the
United States. They are seen in cheesy westerns, cheesy commercials, and cheesy '
southwestern' art. However, they are not actually native to the area. Tumbleweeds, also known as
Russian Thistle, are actually native to the steppes of
Mongolia and
Russia. The plant was introduced at some point to the deserts of the United States and does very well in the dry,
windy environment.
Tumbleweeds 'tumble' as a method of dispersing seeds. When they die, they often break off at the base and go rolling across the desert in the strong winds. The seeds fall out of the plant as this happens, sometimes getting dispersed many miles from where the plant originally grew.
As non-native plants, tumbleweeds may cause some problems. They can pop bicycle tires with their sharp thorns, and they may alter fire regimes - they are very flammable when dry. However, they have not become as much of a problem as other plants such as Tamarisk.