Prickly Russian Thistle, Tumbleweed, Windwitch, Common Saltwort,Salsola tragus (Salsola kali),Amaranth Family (Amaranthaceae)

Found in sunny, disturbed areas, roadsides, fields
Seen blooming in September on the Lemitas Trail, Santa Fe National Forest
When it is young and blooming the Russian Thistle is not so unattractive with its reddish stems, green leaves with a white spine and tiny flowers surrounded by pale to rose pink spiny bracts. It gets ugly when it matures. It can grow to 4 feet tall, usually 3 feet, in a rounded clump with many-branched stems and is the most common kind of tumbleweed. The plant dries out as the fruits develop, then breaks off at the base of the stem and is blown about by the wind, dropping seeds as it rolls, as many as 200,000 per plant, and piles up against fence lines. The shoots of young plants can be harvested and eaten. Young plants are also used for sheep and horse fodder. Navajos used an infusion of plant ashes for smallpox and influenza. A poultice of chewed plants was applied to ant, bee and wasp stings. Source.

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