Tumbleweeds are a familiar sight on the wild Western plains of America. They are dead plants that break away from their roots and roll aimlessly across the landscape with the wind. Most people would recognize them from a western movie where there’s a particularly poignant scene of clear desert and a single, lifeless, brown bush rolling by.
Tumbleweeds are actually made up of many different plants, including Russian thistle, kochia, and Russian knapweed. As the plants grow, they form a ball-shaped structure that easily breaks off, scattering their seeds in the process. Thus, the cycle of propagation continues, even in such an unconventional way.
Tumbleweeds can grow to be quite large and can travel for miles, leaving their seeds behind. Tumbleweeds can travel up to 50 miles or more; in 2014, the town of Victorville, California, was inundated with tumbleweeds blown in from surrounding fields. Some areas have even declared tumbleweeds a nuisance, as they pile up on roadsides and other public areas.
Despite being annoying for some, tumbleweeds are intriguing for many others. They are often used as decoration for the Wild West-themed events and parties or as a symbol of the American West. In areas where these are common, people even have competitions to see who can build the biggest tumbleweed.
The strange tumbleweed may seem entirely useless — a plant that just dies and rolls around, but it is an important part of desert’s ecosystem. They give shelter and protection for small desert animals. They also play a vital role in the soil’s ecosystem, providing essential nutrients in a natural cycle.
The tumbleweed also offers a curious window onto the power of wind, passing on its natural way of propagation. However useless it may seem, the tumbleweed’s uncontrolled drifting across the plains is a reminder that nature is unpredictable, and it is often unexpectedly beautiful.