Buckbush

Scientific Name:

Salsola tragus (poss. syn. Salsola kali)

Other common names for Buckbush:

Prickly Salwort, Prickly Saltwort, Roly-poly, Prickly Roly-poly, Soft Roly-poly, Russian Thistle, Prickly Russian Thistle, Tumbleweed.   

What is Buckbush?

Buckbush is an erect and rounded annual or biennial herbaceous shrub with hairless and somewhat succulent stems when fresh. When mature, bushes break off at ground level and are subject to rolling away by the wind; often becoming entangled in other vegetation or on fences. Buckbush leaves are without stalks, linear, slender and stiff, 10-30 mm long and 2-3 mm wide.

Buckbush flowers occur in the angles between stem and leaves and are subtended by rigid, sharply pointed, small bracts. The pale green to creamy pink fruiting body is 5-9 mm diameter and consists of five wings.