Westerns have a few indispensable elements that define them as a separate genre of movies. The scene of a duel between two cowboys would not be so intense if it were not for a dry bush flying in the background. But what is it actually?
But it is more than just a dead dry bush, tumbleweed is a live plant before that. Each tumbleweed starts with a seed, then roots grow, then branches grow, flowers bloom and produces seeds. A normal plant, right? Maybe except for the fact that instead of dropping the seeds to the ground directly below them, the roots break off and the bush with seeds on it is carried away by the wind. The Tumbleweed drops its seeds while tumbling on wind and spread them on a whole path it traveled continuing this cycle.
Because tumbleweed are an invasive species and undesirable plant, it spreads incredibly fast over great distances and grow fast. But that is just the beginning of the tumbleweed problems…
Let's start with the point that tumbleweed clings to things and clings to each other. It can clump together a dozen or so bushes and function as a huge pile of brushwood. One strong wind can move thousands of tumbleweed bushes from fields and wastelands to the city. It blocks roads, covers buildings, and lays on lawns causing a huge problem in terms of movement and accessibility.
Additionally, the problem is that tumbleweed has spikes on its branches. But not like a rose that has a few thorns on its stem. The entire tumbleweed bush is made of thorns. So you can't touch them with your hands without protection. Do you want to use some machine to clean them? Forget about it. Dry tumbleweed bushes are extremely flammable. The dryness, lightness and bounciness of this bush is a hell of a combination. Additionally, thanks to its thick branches it can burn very hot.
As you probably already guessed, tumbleweed is a huge threat to agriculture. When the first colonists settled in the United States, they brought seeds from Europe and Asia. Among the corn seeds there were also tumbleweed seeds. Tumbleweed grows much faster than corn, so the bushes stole the nutrients from the land that the other crops were supposed to use. Because the bushes grew in the fields between the other crops, tumbleweed injured horses and broke the primitive agricultural machinery used at that time.
Flammability in the dry fields of grain or corn is a major concern. The only way to stop the fire from spreading was to divide the farmland into several smaller ones and separate them with a strip of plowed land. However, such a plowed dry ground is an ideal place for our main character, who spreads fire like nothing else. Additionally, some tumbleweed bushes are so light that when they catch fire, they can fly high in the air into the other dry fields causing more and more damage.
The United States Department of Agriculture has been fighting with this bush for over 200 years. Today's farming technology allows crop losses to be kept to a minimum, but tumbleweed is still a problem for ordinary inhabitants of the middle states. Think about it the next time you will be watching a movie with Clint Eastwood.
Sources:
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/543974/why-do-tumbleweeds-tumble
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumbleweed
https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/lawn-care-2/everything-you-need-to-know-about-tumbleweeds/
https://youtu.be/hsWr_JWTZss
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/543974/why-do-tumbleweeds-tumble
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumbleweed
https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/lawn-care-2/everything-you-need-to-know-about-tumbleweeds/
https://youtu.be/hsWr_JWTZss
1. Have you ever seen a tumbling tumbleweed?
2. What solutions to this problem does today's technology offer?
3. Do you know any example of a problematic plant in your area?
Comments
Not really, but it's not on my personal list to see it in the future.
2.
I think something similar to noise shields, so a wall that would houses from the fields nearby.
3.
Barszcz Sosnowskiego is one, it's a quite toxic and dangerous plant that can burn animals and people when close. It is an invasive species brought from Caucasus region I've heard that there were some trials to get it rid from polish fields, but without much success.
Sure I did. I used to watch a lot of westerns, tumbling tumbleweed is an inseparable element of gunslinger duels. I think there's always a tumbling tumbleweed shot. In addition, I had the opportunity to see this type of plant live. Once, when I was in Egypt or Turkey, I saw the tumbleweed tumbling, I wondered where it got there from.
2. What solutions to this problem does today's technology offer?
As you mentioned in the article getting rid of tumbleweeds is very problematic. They cannot be destroyed by hand because they are hard and can hurt. They cannot be burned because they burn at very high temperatures, they burn quickly and they can move when exposed to wind, which increases the risk of fire spreading. Perhaps the way is to build a machine that can crush tumbleweed and then burn it right away, or compost it?
3. Do you know any example of a problematic plant in your area?
I remember that quite recently in Polish villages there was a problem with a certain plant - Heracleum sosnowskyi. Apparently, this plant stung and was generally poisonous. The media reported that efforts were being made to destroy these plants. They were fired. Interestingly, I was very surprised when I found this type of plant in the countryside with my grandparents. It turned out that my grandmother has been using these plants for years and she has nothing to do with it. Also, I don't know if it was a media fake.
Nope, I haven't but I didn't know that it might cause such damage. I thought that it is not a frequent phenomenon.
2. What solutions to this problem does today's technology offer?
It seems that fire isn't an option. Probably prevention would be the best one. If it is not a native plant to these areas, it should not have a bad effect if we were to get rid of it.
3. Do you know any example of a problematic plant in your area?
Barszcz Sosnowskiego! I haven't heard of it much but it is the first thing that spring to mind. It is the only one that I heard about that is causing huge damage in Poland.
2. I think the best protection against tumbleweed would be nets. For example, cars or houses should be fenced off.
3. In my country, it is definitely the barszcz sosnowskiego. Interaction with this toxic plant causes severe burns to the body.
Outside of the western movies and memes - no. Also I didn't know they are such a problematic thing.
2. What solutions to this problem does today's technology offer?
I have no idea, the simplest solution would be to fence yourself or your crops but it would hurt the scenery a lot. If you can't completely get rid of it then trying to protect yourself from it is the second best idea in my opinion.
3. Do you know any example of a problematic plant in your area?
My grandparents used to complain about elymus (perz in polish) all the time when they were taking care of their garden. I think is just some kind of weed but it's very hard to get rid of and it takes the valuable nutrients away from the plant you grow, just like the tumbleweed.
Many of you are writing about fences or some other type of screens to prevent Tumbleweed. As far as I know, these types of barriers are sometimes used locally, but I have never heard of fencing an entire city with large structures. Such solution could have a very negative impact on the animals living in the area. An interesting aspect is also that these bushes can be food for a few species of animals. Maybe some kind of animal could be "hired" to control the bush population in a certain region.
Its interesting that no one has considered modifying plant genetically. Similar "treatments" are used all over the world with positive results. I have no knowledge of this, but it seems to me that the way new bushes grow could be controlled in some way. Perhaps, the root of the plant could be hardened so that the bush would not so easily detach from the ground, but would remain fastened to the very end.
It is extremely interesting that almost everyone gave an example of "Borscht Sosnowski". I have heard about this plant many times before, but I have never met its and I am very happy about it. Its toxic effects on human skin don't sound like something I'd like to experience.
thank you for all comments :)