Word of Mouth

Invasion Of The Tumbleweeds

New Hampshire Public Radio

Published December 9, 2013 at 10:21 AM EST

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Skeletons of Russian thistle, better known as tumbleweed, pile up in a yard in Lancaster, California.

©Diane Cook and Len Jenshel/National Geographic

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Each Christmas season a tumbleweed snowman, built by New Mexico’s Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority, rises along Interstate 40. At 13 feet, the 2012 snowman was the biggest yet.";

©Diane Cook and Len Jenshel/National Geographic

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A couple of tumbleweeds make their way across the top of a sand dune near Sand Springs in Monument Valley. Round and lightweight, a single tumbleweed can roll for miles, scattering thousands of seeds along the way. Come springtime, a new crop will grow.

©Diane Cook and Len Jenshel/National Geographic

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A crew removes tumbleweeds the size of compact cars from a slope in East Los Angeles. Bone dry and filled with air pockets, dead weeds can be ignited by a discarded cigarette—a hazard worsened by persistent drought.";

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Tumbleweeds have trouble taking root in cultivated lawns. An abandoned house near Lancaster is easy game.

Tumbleweeds rolling? Must be a western. The cinematic signal of high plains desolation has an even more pernicious side: it’s an invasive species known as Russian Thistle, and it’s wreaking havoc across the United States. George Johnson is a writer based in Santa Fe, and a regular contributor to National Geographic, where he wrote about fighting the tumbleweed menace in his own backyard. To see more photos click here.

Invasion Of The Tumbleweeds

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