In the 1870s, Russian Thistle was accidentally introduced to South Dakota by Russian immigrants, but it spread to 100 million acres and became the iconic tumbleweed

Introduced to North America in the 1870s, Russian thistle rapidly colonized the western regions, thriving in arid and disturbed soils. Its spread was exacerbated by agricultural shipments, where seeds mixed in could disseminate widely through farms and railroads. Once dry, the weed rolls across the landscape and scatters its seeds, contributing to fire hazards. Presently, this invasive plant dominates approximately 100 million acres throughout the western United States.
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