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.
also called Salsola gobicola
Cal-IPC rating: limited
Record Count by County

Alameda: 36 Kern: 464 Orange: 164 Shasta: 9
Alpine: 12 Kings: 61 Placer: 11 Sierra: 10
Amador: 8 Lake: 2 Plumas: 15 Siskiyou: 57
Butte: 21 Lassen: 51 Riverside: 278 Solano: 23
Calaveras: 12 Los Angeles: 1563 Sacramento: 26 Sonoma: 3
Colusa: 99 Madera: 22 San Benito: 25 Stanislaus: 34
Contra Costa: 31 Marin: 2 San Bernardino: 573 Sutter: 12
Del Norte: 1 Mariposa: 22 San Diego: 318 Tehama: 4
El Dorado: 59 Merced: 54 San Joaquin: 36 Tulare: 25
Fresno: 229 Modoc: 60 San Luis Obispo: 128 Tuolumne: 6
Glenn: 4 Mono: 256 San Mateo: 1 Ventura: 144
Humboldt: 2 Monterey: 110 Santa Barbara: 67 Yolo: 28
Imperial: 71 Napa: 7 Santa Clara: 16 Yuba: 7
Inyo: 410 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: 01/15/2026).