My request for the identification of a fuzzy desert plant found in our Tucson back yard (see below) resulted in this uninvited bouquet (see above) from Minnesota transplant Lorlee Bartos. The Dallas plant lover took good-natured exception to my offering her a dandelion/bouganvillea mystery challenge.
"I see your Tucson dandelion," Lorlee wrote. "And I raise you one Minnesota thistle."
Now I am no plant expert, but it was immediately clear that Lorlee had sent me a photo of
Salsola tragus L., common to pastures and fields throughout the Midwest, particularly so near Lake Andrew, Alexandria, MN.
Dad incorrectly referred to this plant as Russian thistle. It competed for dominance in our 10 acre pasture with the milder milkweed. We pulled the milkweeds manually, year after year, our hands soiled by a gooey, milky substance. But with their nasty, spiny needles, we left the "stickers" alone. So did the cows and soon the thistles would thrive, bloom and then be slashed by sharecropper Joe Hiebel, hired to drive through the pasture with a floppy sickle bar behind his Allis Chalmers. This haphazard trimming resulted in a brown residue of dead thistle plants, their dried spikes hidden like land mines beneath the new grass, and now nastier than ever to a barefoot boy charged with bringing reluctant cows home for milking.
So thank you, my dear Lorlee, for presenting me with this lovely memory of dancing gingerly through the morning mist, taking pains to avoid exactly what you have so graciously emailed me today.
I guess I started it.
By the way, Lorlee has no idea of the genus, species, name or nothing of our fuzzy backyard plant. We await guidance from others.
oops. just got two comments, accidentally rejected them. commenters, please resend. editor.
oops. just got two comments, accidentally rejected them. commenters, please resend. editor.
