Bassia scoparia

This introduced or adventive annual plant has a variable size, ranging from 1-6' tall. Large plants branch frequently and are wider at the base. Young stems are pubescent, but older stems near the base are usually glabrous. The alternate leaves are up to 2½" long and ¼" across. They are linear, narrowly lanceolate, or narrowly oblanceolate, and sessile against the stems. Their margins are smooth and ciliate. Clusters of 2-6 flowers develop near the axils of the leaves in young stems. These clusters of flowers slowly lengthen to become short hairy spikes about ½–2" long. These spikes have leafy bracts that are about ½" long and linear in shape. The silky hairs of the spikes can be as long as the bracts. Each flower is about 1/5" across, consisting of a divided style, 5 stamens with large yellow anthers, 5 green sepals, and no petals. Each sepal is shaped like a blunt triangle and becomes winged along its outer surface as the flower matures into a fruit. The flowers are greenish yellow in overall appearance – were it not for their abundance along the stems, they would be rather inconspicuous. The blooming period occurs from mid-summer to early fall and lasts about 1-2 months. Each flower is replaced by a somewhat flattened capsule that contains a single seed. This capsule is enclosed by the sepals until it is ready to release the seed. The flattened seed is well-rounded on one end and tapers to a point on the other, resembling a teardrop. It is more or less brown and has a rough surface. During the fall or winter, Kochia often breaks off at the base of the central stem and becomes a tumbleweed that is driven about by the wind, in this manner distributing its seeds. The root system consists of a taproot. This plant spreads by reseeding itself, and sometimes forms colonies. Cultivation

What distinguishes Kochia from similar species in the Goosefoot family, such as Salsola kali (Russian Thistle), is the lack of thorns or prickles in the foliage. There is a cultivated form of Kochia that is occasionally grown in gardens as an ornamental plant. This cultivated form is quite different in appearance, having foliage that is light green and softer in texture than wild Kochia. The cultivated form occasionally reseeds itself and escapes, but it rarely persists in either waste areas or the wild. Sometimes Kochia is called 'Burning Bush' because the foliage turns red during the fall. Where this plant is abundant, it can cause allergic reactions in people during the late summer or fall because of the airborne pollen.

Canada

Origin: Exotic

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

United States

Origin: Exotic

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

More info for the term: forb

Summer-cypress is a forb of Eurasian origin that has become naturalized
in the Great Plains and the western states [34,35]. It is also found in
New England and the Midwest [9,53,62,73]. In Canada summer-cypress
occurs in the Prairie Provinces and Quebec [8,13,63].

Kochia occurs occasionally in central and northern Illinois, but it is less common or absent in southern Illinois (see Distribution Map). However, Kochia is still spreading into many areas of the state where it was not previously observed. Habitats include pastures, roadsides, areas along railroads, landfills and urban dumps, and sterile waste areas. In Illinois, Kochia is primarily a weed along railroads. It prefers disturbed sites and has not invaded natural habitats to any significant degree, although it could potentially invade gravel and sand prairies in the future. Kochia can appear in recently burned over areas because of its tumbleweed characteristic. It is native to Asia.

More info on this topic.

This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

3 Southern Pacific Border
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
14 Great Plains
15 Black Hills Uplift
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands

AZ CA CO CT HI ID IL IN IA KS
ME MA MI MN MT NE NV NH NM NY
ND OH OK OR SD TX UT VT VA WA
WY AB MB PQ SK

Kochia sieversiana (Pall.) C.A. Mey.:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Kochia scoparia var. subvillosa Moq.:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Kochia scoparia (L.) Schrad.:
Argentina (South America)
Canada (North America)
New Zealand (Oceania)
United States (North America)
China (Asia)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Eurasia; probably introduced in the West.

Distribution: Eurasia.

More info for the term: forb

Summer-cypress is an introduced, annual forb that grows from 1 to 6 feet
(0.3-1.8 m) tall [9,27,98]. Stems are erect, simple to much-branched,
and often form pyramidal or rounded tops [6,35,37,39]. Leaves are 0.8
to 4 inches (2-10 cm) long and 0.02 to 0.48 inch (0.5-12 mm) wide
[35,39,98]. The dry fruit has a single seed from 0.08 to 0.12 inch (2-3
mm) long [17,35]. Roots generally penetrate to depths of 6 to 8 feet
(1.8-2.4 m) [9,26,27,32], but reached depths of 16 feet (4.8 m) in a
sorghum field in Kansas during a severe drought [100]. Roots can extend
laterally up to 22 feet (6.6 m) [9,27]. Summer-cypress is drought
tolerant [27,46,58]. It is not tolerant of spring flooding [51].

2600 m

Erect annual or biennial, much branched, up to 150 cm tall, greenish, usually turning pinkish or reddish at end of season. Leaves filiform or linear up to 5 cm long. Perianth wing very short or tubercle-like.

Herbs annual, 50-100 cm tall. Root fusiform. Stem erect, terete, light green or reddish purple, ribbed, slightly pubescent or subglabrous below; branches sparse, oblique. Leaves lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, complanate, 2-5 cm × 3-7 mm, usually with 3 distinct main veins, glabrous or slightly hairy, base attenuate into petiole, margin sparsely ferruginous ciliate, apex shortly acuminate; upper leaves sessile, smaller, 1-veined. Flowers bisexual or female, usually 1-3 per glomerule in axils of upper leaves and forming sparse, spikelike panicles; rachis beneath flowers sometimes ferruginous pilose. Perianth light green, subglobose; segments subtriangular, glabrous or apex slightly hairy, rarely wholly pubescent; winglike appendages triangular to obovate, sometimes subflabellate, membranous, obscurely veined, margin repand or incised. Filaments filiform. Style very short; stigmas 2, usually brownish purple. Utricle depressed globose; pericarp membranous, free from seed. Seed black-brown, sublustrous, ovoid, 1.5-2 mm; perisperm coherent. Fl. Jun-Sep, fr. Jul-Oct.

Chenopodium scoparium Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 221. 1753.

Chenopodium scoparia L., Sp. Pl. 221. 1753; Kochia trichophylla hort.; R.R. Stewart, l.c. 225.

Chenopodium scoparium Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 221. 1753 (as scoparia)

More info for the terms: cactus, codominant, cover, shrub

Summer-cypress occurs mainly in grassland, mixed-grass prairie,
shortgrass prairie, sagebrush, and desert shrub communities of western
North America.

Summer-cypress is common in floodplain and riparian habitats.

In Quebec summer-cypress is codominant with mayweed (Matricaria
maritima) along disturbed riverbanks [63]. In eastern Montana and
Wyoming summer-cypress occurs on meadow floodplains and temporary
mudflats [50]. It has been noted in Utah in marshes dominated by
bulrushes (Scirpus spp.) and cattails (Typha spp.). Upland associates
include black greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus), Europe swampfire
(Salicornia europaea), and smotherweed (Bassia hyssopifolia) [66,96].
It also occurs with saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima) [15]. On the
Colorado-Kansas border, summer-cypress occurs on the Arkansas River
floodplain. Common associates include saltcedar, sand dropseed
(Sporobolus cryptandrus), saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), and western
wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii) [57]. In New Mexico summer-cypress
forms a dense cover along creek floodplains. Associates in the adjacent
grassland include cholla cactus (Opuntia imbricata), blue grama
(Bouteloua gracilis), sideoats grama (B. curtipendula), hairy grama (B.
hirsuta), and muhly (Muhlenbergia spp.) [68].

Prairie and plains grassland associates not previosly listed include red
threeawn (Aristida purpurea) and plains silver sagebrush (Artemisia cana
ssp. cana) in South Dakota [19]. In Kansas summer-cypress occurs in
mixed-grass prairie with sunflower (Helianthus annuus), switchgrass
(Panicum virgatum), ragweed (Ambrosia psilostachya), western poison-ivy
(Toxicodendron rydbergii), and lambsquarter (Chenopodium album) [29,42].
Summer-cypress occurs also occurs in the Great Plains with saltgrass,
foxtail barley (Critestion jubatum), and alkali sacaton (Sporobolus
airoides) [91]. In Colorado summer-cypress occurs in shortgrass prairie
dominated by indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) [10]. In Texas
summer-cypress occurs in the Southern High Plains [84].

Summer-cypress occurs in desert shrub communities of Utah, Montana, and
Wyoming [25,50]. In Utah summer-cypress occurs in shadscale (Atriplex
confertifolia) [25], in saline meadows dominated by saltgrass and annual
weeds, and in saltgrass-alkaligrass (Puccinellia spp.) communities [14].
In Montana and Wyoming summer-cypress occurs in saltbush (Atriplex spp.)
desert shrubland and greasewood (Sarcobatus spp.) desert shrubland
communities [50]. Common associates include Gardner's saltbush (A.
gardneri), budsage (Artemisia spinescens), indiangrass, and plains
prickly pear (Opuntia polyacantha) [50].

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in association with the following Rangeland Cover Types (as classified by the Society for Range Management, SRM):

More info for the term: shrub

101 Bluebunch wheatgrass
303 Bluebunch wheatgrass-western wheatgrass
310 Needle-and-thread-blue grama
408 Other sagebrush types
414 Salt desert shrub
415 Curlleaf mountain-mahogany
416 True mountain-mahogany
501 Saltbush-greasewood
502 Grama-galleta
504 Juniper-pinyon pine woodland
508 Creosotebush-tarbush
601 Bluestem prairie
604 Bluestem-grama prairie
605 Sandsage prairie
606 Wheatgrass-bluestem-needlegrass
607 Wheatgrass-needlegrass
608 Wheatgrass-grama-needlegrass
609 Wheatgrass-grama
610 Wheatgrass
611 Blue grama-buffalograss
612 Sagebrush-grass
615 Wheatgrass-saltgrass-grama
701 Alkali sacaton-tobosagrass
702 Black grama-alkali sacaton
703 Black grama-sideoats grama
704 Blue grama-western wheatgrass
705 Blue grama-galleta
706 Blue grama-sideoats grama
707 Blue grama-sideoats grama-black grama
709 Bluestem-grama
712 Galleta-alkali sacaton
714 Grama-bluestem
715 Grama-buffalograss
722 Sand sagebrush-mixed prairie

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

More info for the term: shrub

FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES30 Desert shrub
FRES31 Shinnery
FRES33 Southwestern shrubsteppe
FRES34 Chaparral-mountain shrub
FRES35 Pinyon-juniper
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES37 Mountain meadows
FRES38 Plains grasslands
FRES39 Prairie
FRES40 Desert grasslands
FRES41 Wet grasslands

Summer-cypress is common in fields, pastures, rangelands, waste places,
and along roadsides [6,30,35,41,89]. Summer-cypress is most often found
in open, unshaded areas on disturbed sites [9,17,46,55,90]. It grows
well on a variety of soil types [46,55], and is often found on
saline/alkaline soils [89,90].

Elevations for summer-cypress are as follows:

feet meters

California less than 5,000 less than 1,500 [39]
Colorado 4,000-9,700 1,200-2,910 [24,38]
Montana less than 4,000 less than 1,200 [50]
New Mexico 6,200-7,000 1,860-2,100 [41,68]
Utah 2,800-6,550 850-1,985 [24,96]
Wyoming 3,600-6,200 1,080-1,860 [24]

Kochia occurs occasionally in central and northern Illinois, but it is less common or absent in southern Illinois (see Distribution Map). However, Kochia is still spreading into many areas of the state where it was not previously observed. Habitats include pastures, roadsides, areas along railroads, landfills and urban dumps, and sterile waste areas. In Illinois, Kochia is primarily a weed along railroads. It prefers disturbed sites and has not invaded natural habitats to any significant degree, although it could potentially invade gravel and sand prairies in the future. Kochia can appear in recently burned over areas because of its tumbleweed characteristic. It is native to Asia.

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

220 Rocky Mountain juniper
239 Pinyon-juniper

Valleys, river banks, beaches, wastelands, field margins, roadsides; also cultivated. Throughout China [Asia, Europe; widely naturalized in Africa, Australia, and North and South America].

The flowers are wind-pollinated and do not attract many insects. The fuzzy orange caterpillars of Diacrisia virginica (Woolly Bear Moth) feed on the foliage. This moth species is highly polyphagous and attacks a variety of weedy plants in the Goosefoot family. Cattle, horses, sheep, and the White-Tailed Deer readily browse on the foliage. However, if the foliage is eaten in large quantities, it can cause toxic reactions in livestock, including photosensitization and neurological problems. Upland gamebirds, granivorous songbirds, and small rodents probably eat the seeds, but the species that do this in the Midwest are poorly documented. Photographic Location

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More info for the terms: cover, forb, forbs

Summer-cypress invades disturbed sites and may move onto undisturbed
sites when growing conditions are ideal [18,56,59,78]. It colonizes
rapidly and may suppress other vegetation [56]. Summer-cypress often
invades saline rangelands [78,90].

Summer-cypress is an early pioneering annual on denuded
areas. On a disturbed mixed-grass prairie
site in Wyioming, summer-cypress was one of six forbs to dominate vegetation in the
first few years after disturbance; summer-cypress persisted on the site
for over 10 years [71]. In the Northern Great Plains summer-cypress
invades wetland basins during drought and is especially opportunistic
around brackish or saline wetlands [56]. In Montana summer-cypress
often forms dense single-species stands; on recently disturbed sites
other introduced annuals are common associates [37].

In Colorado summer-cypress is an early seral forb on disturbed sites and
can dominate vegetation for the first 2 years on sites that are
disturbed; if nitrogen is added, summer-cypress may dominate for up to 5
years [60]. On the Arkansas River, Colorado, in mature (20-25 year-old)
saltcedar stands, summer-cypress cover in the forb layer is nearly 100
percent [57].

Near the Great Salt Lake, Utah, die-back of shadscale has favored
summer-cypress and other species; summer-cypress is especially prevalent
in valley bottoms [25].

More info on this topic.

More info for the term: therophyte

Therophyte

More info for the term: forb

Forb

In the Little Missouri Grasslands of North Dakota, 5,400 acres (2,160
ha) of grassland burned in 1988. In 1989, summer-cypress had "broken
through the blackened land of a year ago" [23].

Summer-cypress seed may colonize burned sites via its "tumbleweed"
dispersal mechanism.

Summer-cypress reproduces exclusively by seed. It exhibits extreme
reproductive plasticity in that one plant can produce over 50,000 seeds
per year under favorable conditions, but only 5 seeds per year under
stressful conditions [9,44]. Typically a summer-cypress plant will
produce about 14,600 seeds per year [27]. Major means of seed
dissemination is a "tumbleweed" dispersal mechanism via stem abscission
[4,9,43,44]. Wind and water are effective dispersal agents as well
[45]. Seeds of summer-cypress have a dormancy period of 2 to 3 months
and germinate early in the spring [27,30,45]. Seeds germinate in
temperatures ranging from 39 to 106 degrees Fahrenheit (3.9-41 deg C),
with optimum germination occurring at 61 degrees Fahrenheit (16 deg C)
[27]. Seeds have little or no seedbank viability [44]; they either
germinate or decay in 1 year [9]. In eastern Washington and Oregon
summer-cypress seeds buried 4 inches (10 cm) in soil had less than one
percent viability after 2 years [9,27]. Seed viability is reduced by
livestock digestion [8,9]. Seedlings of summer-cypress are
frost tolerant [9,27,44].

Summer-cypress is probably killed by fire.

Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)

More info on this topic.

Summer-cypress flowering dates are as follows:

California Aug-Oct [64]
Colorado Jun-Oct [24]
Illinois July-Sep [62]
Kansas July-Oct [6]
Montana Jul-Aug 24]
New England Sep-Oct [73]
North Dakota July-Sep [24]
Utah July-Oct [98]
Virginia Jun-Sep [99]
Wyoming July-Oct [98]
Great Plains July-Oct [35]

In Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, summer-cypress flowers from July to
the first killing frost [9].

Fl. Per.: April-August.

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 3
Specimens with Barcodes: 3
Species With Barcodes: 1

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 3
Specimens with Barcodes: 3
Species With Barcodes: 1

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable

Rounded Global Status Rank: GNR - Not Yet Ranked

In the Great Plains and the Pacific Northwest, summmer-cypress is
becoming a serious weed in pastures and rangelands [9,26,30].

Summer-cypress can be effectively controlled with a variety of
herbicides; but is not controlled by phenoxy herbicides at rates
recommended for crops [67,82]. Grazing or mowing will not control
summer-cypress or stop seed production [9].

Summer-cypres is allelopathic, inhibiting early growth of other summer-cypress seedlings as well as growth of other plant species
[108].

These species are introduced in Switzerland.