''Kali paulsenii''Hossein Akhani, Gerald Edwards & Eric H. Roalson: ''Diversification Of The Old World Salsoleae S.L. (Chenopodiaceae): Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis Of Nuclear And Chloroplast Data Sets And A Revised Classification'', in: ''International Journal of Plant Sciences'', 168 (6), 2007, p. 931–956. (Synonym ''Salsola paulsenii'') is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common name barbwire Russian thistle. It is native to Eurasia and it is present in the American southwest as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

and sometimes a

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

in sandy, disturbed habitat types. It is an annual herb forming a brambly clump of intricately branched, prostrate to erect stems growing up to a meter long. The reddish stems are lined with yellow-green, thready, fleshy, or needlelike, spine-tipped leaves a few millimeters to three centimeters long. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is an interrupted series of flowers, with one flower per leaf axil. The flower is surrounded by a disclike array of wide, winged

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s which are whitish at the tips and pinkish at the bases. ''Kali paulsenii'' is named for the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

botanist and explorer

Ove Paulsen Ove Vilhelm Paulsen (22 March 1874 – 29 April 1947) was a Danish botanist. Biography Paulsen was born at Aarhus, Denmark. He studied at the University of Copenhagen under professor Eugen Warming (1841-1924). Paulsen was a keeper at the Bota ...

. This plant is similar to ''

Kali tragus is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is known by various common names such as prickly Russian thistle, windwitch, or common saltwort. It is widely known simply as tumbleweed because in many regions of the United State ...

'' and sometimes forms hybrids with it.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
Amaranthaceae {{Amaranthaceae-stub