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REGION: Where have all the tumbleweeds gone?
Some say light winds, rain may be keeping Western icons away
By DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer | ∞
Tumbleweeds, such as these that clogged Miller Road in Valley Center a few years ago, are a rarity this fall. (File photo by Waldo Nilo - for the North County Times) The tumbleweed, that rough-edged, timeless icon of the West, has slipped out of sight.
Residents say they haven't seen the dry, thorny, ball-shaped plant rolling across the backcountry and suburban streets, clogging up fences as they have in the past
"I haven't seen any of them, and I've driven around quite a bit," Rick Halsey, director of the Escondido-based California Chaparral Institute and a local plant expert, said in a recent telephone interview.
Gary Arant, general manager of the Valley Center Water District, said his field crew has noticed a sharp drop-off in the number of tumbleweeds piling up against district fences.
No one seems to know why. But there are theories.
One is that the plants are still bouncing back from last year's wildfires. Another is that this fall's Santa Ana winds haven't been that bad and have yet to knock them out of the ground.
Whatever the reason, longtime Ramona rancher Warren Hooper suggested the plant's absence is not the beginning of a long-term trend.
"Some years they are just real bad, and some years there just aren't very many of them around," Hooper said. "But they never go away. They will be back."
Carl Bell, regional adviser on invasive plants for the UC Cooperative Extension in San Diego, said he has seen plenty of tumbleweeds in other parts of the county, but it is difficult to tell for sure whether the population of tumbleweeds in North County has dwindled or climbed in recent months.
Bell said he is not aware of any Southern California government agency or group that reliably tracks and reports the presence of the Russian thistle, the formal name for the plant most commonly called tumbleweed. The plant's botanical name is Salsola tragus.
Russian thistle is a non-native plant that entered this country by way of South Dakota around 1874 as a contaminant in flax seed brought from Europe, Bell said.
"It is an annual plant and is called tumbleweed ---- as are a lot of other weeds ---- because when it is mature, it dies, then breaks off at ground level, rolls with the wind and scatters its seed as it rolls," he said.
Because of its ability to travel long distances in the wind, the tumbleweed can spread and put down roots in new areas with ease.
"That's its whole strategy ---- and a very successful one at that," said Eileen Anderson, a biologist and plant expert for the Center for Biological Diversity in Los Angeles.
In essence, Halsey said, the uprooted tumbleweed is little more than "a giant ball covered with little seeds as it tumbles down the road."
Why the plant has largely tumbled out of sight in North County in recent months is hard to say, but scientists and farmers alike have theories.
Like most plants, the tumbleweed does better with more rain than less.
"There may be some relationship to when the rain fell," Bell said. "Russian thistle tends to germinate later in the spring than most of the other weeds in the county. So if the rains come early, like they did last season, and there is not a lot of late-season rain, then Russian thistle would be at some disadvantage."
It is not likely, Bell said, that the explosive wildfires of October 2007 are behind any observed decline of the plant. If anything, the fires should have helped it.
"Actually, Russian thistle likes bare ground," he said. "Anything that impedes the tumbling would slow the seed spread, so it should benefit from open ground."
Indeed, Anderson said, the tumbleweed tends to thrive most in areas where the soil has been disturbed and it doesn't have to compete with native plants. That's why they tend to crop up along state highways and on farms, she said.
And last year's fires probably will wind up clearing the way for a new bumper crop, Anderson said.
Maybe it is just that the new tumbleweeds growing in burn areas haven't become mature enough to break apart and roll across the landscape, Halsey said.
Or maybe it is that Santa Ana winds haven't raked the plants as hard as in the past and kicked them down the road, said Arleen Velasco, an avocado farmer in the San Pasqual Valley.
Then again, the very memory of the 2007 wildfires ---- including the 198,000-acre Witch Creek blaze that tore across Velasco's farm ---- may be a factor.
"Everyone out where I live is petrified of another fire," Velasco said. "And what I've seen is a lot more people taking care to keep their weeds down."
Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 745-6611, Ext. 2623, or ddowney@nctimes.com.
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paul wrote on Dec 2, 2008 6:19 PM:Slow news day while this county's food lines are getting longer in this depression?/?? Google "tumbleweed for sale", get 281,000 hits, then get back to reality.
Oh no wrote on Dec 2, 2008 6:42 PM:I killed them all. Nah it's probably just the lack of rain ,before last week of course. It didn't really rain significantly for over 4 or 5 months.
To Paul wrote on Dec 2, 2008 8:50 PM:Sometimes it is just nice to read an article that has nothing to do with people suffering. It is okay to write and article like this. You took the time to stop and read it so it could not have been that unimportant.
BOB wrote on Dec 3, 2008 4:03 AM:Russian Thistle is an invasive non-native, that should not be encouraged in any way or lamented at thier passing.
Yo Ralphie wrote on Dec 3, 2008 4:51 AM:Bill's rolling a big fat tumbleweed joint for O-ba-ma right now!
Carlos wrote on Dec 3, 2008 5:27 AM:That is a real important story, under the header and above the fold. In most papers it wouldn't make the back page.
JSten wrote on Dec 3, 2008 7:04 AM:I just go my guitar
Now what am I going to sing about?
"Driiiifting along with a tumbullling humm hummm hmmm"
Nostalgia wrote on Dec 3, 2008 7:13 AM:I was just wondering the other day where the grapefruits have gone too.
I haven't seen them at my local stores for years.
hay paul wrote on Dec 3, 2008 7:23 AM:Paul maybe if we didn't read about so much suffering people may get more excited and move on, lets look for something good. How about a $1.85 for a gal of gas, see not all things are bad.
Political wrote on Dec 3, 2008 7:46 AM:I know these idiots do this just to goad someone like me to respond. And I usually ignore idiots but sometimes I like to enlighten the idiots and make them think as much as it hurts their ignorance. To those that mentioned our former President of the United States and our current President elect: They are the President... If you were military and do not understand respect for that position, you are ignorant and little. If you think it is funny to point out that a President might have smoked something, how funny is it to point out that Bush "snorted" something while in college? How funny is it to point out that a lie took this country to war and over 4,000 American troops have died and thousands of others are still suffering the affects of this lie. THERE WERE NO WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION IN IRAQ! Your choice, what do you support?
Grapefruits wrote on Dec 3, 2008 8:14 AM:What has happened to the grapefruits. Maybe we should ask the administrators at the Escondido High School District.
Valley Girl wrote on Dec 3, 2008 8:16 AM:Tumbleweeds are alive and well and living in Valley Center. They're not all dried yet, hugging the fences along the road. There's also grapefruit at the Farmers' Market, Thursday afternoon. Nice, local, sweet. Remember those So. Cal "snowmen" made out of tumbleweeds?
Craig wrote on Dec 3, 2008 8:29 AM:I don't think they have been in my yard. Everyday I pull out newly sprouted young, green tumble weed. I'm in the Estates in Ramona.
To Political wrote on Dec 3, 2008 9:01 AM:If Yellow Cake in quantities greater than what Iran currently has produced is no indication of weapons of mass distruction, then I guess it was a lie. But, as one who has been there as part of the team investigating the WMDs I can assure you they were there. The only lies are those perpetrated by the media and others who have done everthing in their power to disrespect the outgoing president. You want to talk about ignorant people and the understanding of respect? You might want to look at yourself before you go pointing fingers at others!
Curriculum writers wrote on Dec 3, 2008 9:02 AM:The tumbleweeds have been eliminated due to State budget shortfalls. The same goes for new textbooks.
MANAGEMENT wrote on Dec 3, 2008 9:15 AM:Biological control of Russian thistle is difficult. There have been numerous attempts through the years to import biological control agents, such as insects, but none have been successful. The biological control agents have become established but do not provide sufficient control. However, there is hope on the horizon. The recent introduction of a blister mite, Aceria salsolae, for Russian thistle control. A native to the Mediterranean Basin, this mite is known to attack only Russian thistle and stunts it by killing the growing tips. Several other potential biological control agents, such as a seed-feeding and stem-boring caterpillar and two different weevils have also been recently introduced.
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