This noxious alien from Europe, first documented in the U. S. in 1870, found heaven on Earth in the overgrazed, abused pastures and prairies of the West. It quickly spread a prickly blanket across countless acres of degraded range and farmland. In the winter, the dried “bushes” can reach 3 feet across and accumulate in huge, wind-blown, prickly piles on the windward side of fences, gullies, and buildings. Note the rounded shape from the dense, interlocking branches, the reddish stripes on fresh stems, and the tiny dish-like pinkish flowers in the leaf axils.

FLOWER: July–October. Solitary in upper leaf axils, 3 spiny green bracts spread beneath 5 pinkish petal-like sepals, each oval, 1/8 inch long (3 mm); no petals.

LEAVES: Alternate. Blades threadlike, 3/8–2 inches long (1–5 cm), becoming rigid, spine-tipped.

HABITAT: Dry sandy, disturbed soils; roadsides, abandoned farms, range lands.

ELEVATION: 3,500–8,000 feet

RANGE: Widespread across the U. S.; in every state west of the Mississippi River.

SIMILAR SPECIES: The look-alikes Slender Russian Thistle, S. collina, and Barbwire Russian Thistle, S. paulsenii, share much of the range in NM and the Southwest.

NM COUNTIES: Widespread statewide in low- to mid-elevation, dry habitats.