Tumbleweed, wind witch and Russian cactus are among the many common names for the Russian thistle (Salsola tragus) – though it isn't a thistle or a cactus at all and is instead part of the Amaranth ...

We had noticed a few brittle tumbleweed skeletons lying around. But that was to be expected. Salsola tragus, as it’s properly called, or Russian thistle, has become ubiquitous in the West.