Ohio Noxious Weed Identification – Week 3 Russian Thistle

Russian Thistle

Family: Goosefoot, Chenopodiaceae.

Habitat: Dry wastelands or spring-sown field crops during dry seasons. Not common in Ohio.

Life cycle: annual.

Growth Habit: 1-2 feet high, multi-branched.

Leaves: Under 1 inch long, sharp-pointed, awl-shaped, dull-green or grayish. Early leaves are soft and elongated, leaves formed later are short, stiff and prickle-pointed, often turning red. A unique and easy-to-identify weed.

Stem: Becomes stiff and woody with age. At maturity this plant breaks from its root and becomes a tumbleweed, scattering seed across open fields.

Flower: Small inconspicuous flowers with red or pink sepals located in the upper branches; note that the bottom left picture (Figure 25) is magnified.

The problem is…. Seeds are spread by windblown tumbleweeds. It frequents dry habitats and is found more commonly in the west central states.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Currently there are 21 weeds on the Ohio Prohibited Noxious Weed List:

  • Shattercane (Sorghum bicolor)
  • Russian thistle (Salsola Kali var. tenuifolia)
  • Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense L. (Pers.))
  • Wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)
  • Wild carrot (Queen Anne’s lace) (Daucus carota L.)
  • Oxeye daisy (Chrysanthermum leucanthemum var. pinnatifidum)
  • Wild mustard (Brassica kaber var. pinnatifida)
  • Grapevines: when growing in groups of one hundred or more and not pruned, sprayed,cultivated, or otherwise maintained for two consecutive years.
  • Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense L. (Scop.))
  • Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum)
  • Cressleaf groundsel (Senecio glabellus)
  • Musk thistle (Carduus nutans)
  • Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
  • Mile-A-Minute Weed (Polygonum perfoliatum)
  • Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)
  • Apple of Peru (Nicandra physalodes)
  • Marestail (Conyza canadensis)
  • Kochia (Bassia scoparia)
  • Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri)
  • Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata)
  • Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum)

Each week, for the next 21 weeks, I will post information and pictures on how to identify these invasive and harmful plants.

Currently there are 21 weeds on the Ohio Prohibited Noxious Weed List:

  • Shattercane (Sorghum bicolor)
  • Russian thistle (Salsola Kali var. tenuifolia)
  • Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense L. (Pers.))
  • Wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)
  • Wild carrot (Queen Anne’s lace) (Daucus carota L.)
  • Oxeye daisy (Chrysanthermum leucanthemum var. pinnatifidum)
  • Wild mustard (Brassica kaber var. pinnatifida)
  • Grapevines: when growing in groups of one hundred or more and not pruned, sprayed,cultivated, or otherwise maintained for two consecutive years.
  • Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense L. (Scop.))
  • Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum)
  • Cressleaf groundsel (Senecio glabellus)
  • Musk thistle (Carduus nutans)
  • Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
  • Mile-A-Minute Weed (Polygonum perfoliatum)
  • Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)
  • Apple of Peru (Nicandra physalodes)
  • Marestail (Conyza canadensis)
  • Kochia (Bassia scoparia)
  • Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri)
  • Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata)
  • Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum)

Each week, for the next 21 weeks, I will post information and pictures on how to identify these invasive and harmful plants.

Currently there are 21 weeds on the Ohio Prohibited Noxious Weed List:

  • Shattercane (Sorghum bicolor)
  • Russian thistle (Salsola Kali var. tenuifolia)
  • Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense L. (Pers.))
  • Wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)
  • Wild carrot (Queen Anne’s lace) (Daucus carota L.)
  • Oxeye daisy (Chrysanthermum leucanthemum var. pinnatifidum)
  • Wild mustard (Brassica kaber var. pinnatifida)
  • Grapevines: when growing in groups of one hundred or more and not pruned, sprayed,cultivated, or otherwise maintained for two consecutive years.
  • Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense L. (Scop.))
  • Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum)
  • Cressleaf groundsel (Senecio glabellus)
  • Musk thistle (Carduus nutans)
  • Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
  • Mile-A-Minute Weed (Polygonum perfoliatum)
  • Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)
  • Apple of Peru (Nicandra physalodes)
  • Marestail (Conyza canadensis)
  • Kochia (Bassia scoparia)
  • Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri)
  • Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata)
  • Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum)

Each week, for the next 21 weeks, I will post information and pictures on how to identify these invasive and harmful plants.

Currently there are 21 weeds on the Ohio Prohibited Noxious Weed List:

  • Shattercane (Sorghum bicolor)
  • Russian thistle (Salsola Kali var. tenuifolia)
  • Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense L. (Pers.))
  • Wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)
  • Wild carrot (Queen Anne’s lace) (Daucus carota L.)
  • Oxeye daisy (Chrysanthermum leucanthemum var. pinnatifidum)
  • Wild mustard (Brassica kaber var. pinnatifida)
  • Grapevines: when growing in groups of one hundred or more and not pruned, sprayed,cultivated, or otherwise maintained for two consecutive years.
  • Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense L. (Scop.))
  • Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum)
  • Cressleaf groundsel (Senecio glabellus)
  • Musk thistle (Carduus nutans)
  • Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
  • Mile-A-Minute Weed (Polygonum perfoliatum)
  • Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)
  • Apple of Peru (Nicandra physalodes)
  • Marestail (Conyza canadensis)
  • Kochia (Bassia scoparia)
  • Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri)
  • Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata)
  • Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum)

Each week, for the next 21 weeks, I will post information and pictures on how to identify these invasive and harmful plants.

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