Calflora, a 501c3 non-profit
Distribution by County   7296    
Salsola tragus  L.
Prickly russian thistle, Russianthistle, Tumbleweed
Salsola tragus is an annual herb that is not native to California.
New name: Salsola gobicola
Cal-IPC rating: limited
Record Count by County

Alameda: 36 Kern: 454 Orange: 154 Shasta: 10
Alpine: 12 Kings: 60 Placer: 11 Sierra: 10
Amador: 8 Lake: 2 Plumas: 14 Siskiyou: 57
Butte: 22 Lassen: 52 Riverside: 269 Solano: 22
Calaveras: 11 Los Angeles: 1543 Sacramento: 28 Sonoma: 3
Colusa: 99 Madera: 22 San Benito: 25 Stanislaus: 34
Contra Costa: 32 Marin: 2 San Bernardino: 522 Sutter: 12
Del Norte: 1 Mariposa: 22 San Diego: 314 Tehama: 5
El Dorado: 59 Merced: 53 San Joaquin: 33 Tulare: 23
Fresno: 228 Modoc: 62 San Luis Obispo: 129 Tuolumne: 6
Glenn: 4 Mono: 251 San Mateo: 1 Ventura: 141
Humboldt: 2 Monterey: 110 Santa Barbara: 68 Yolo: 28
Imperial: 71 Napa: 6 Santa Clara: 16 Yuba: 7
Inyo: 405 Nevada: 18 Santa Cruz: 1

Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals, including the Consortium of California Herbaria. [web application]. 2026. The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 08/19/2026).