Russian thistle

noun

Any of several species of genus Salsola and its close relatives, prickly shrublike annuals, especially Salsola tragus (syn. Kali tragus), which is the best-known kind of tumbleweed in the US.

Similar
prickly Russian thistleRussian tumbleweedRussian cactustumbleweedSalsola kali tenuifolia
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Meanings

nounRussian thistle (plural Russian thistles)

plural Russian thistles

  1. Any of several species of genus Salsola and its close relatives, prickly shrublike annuals, especially Salsola tragus (syn. Kali tragus), which is the best-known kind of tumbleweed in the US.

    Synonyms: prickly Russian thistle

  2. AustraliaSalsola australis

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAny of several species of genus Salsola and its close relatives, prickly shrublike annuals, especially Salsola tragus (syn. Kali tragus), which is the best-known kind of tumbleweed in the US.

Similar
prickly Russian thistle

More synonyms by meaning

nounprickly bushy Eurasian plant; a troublesome weed in central and western United States

Similar
Russian tumbleweedRussian cactustumbleweedSalsola kali tenuifolia
Broader
shrubbush
Also see
tumbleweed

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From Russian + thistle: believed to have been introduced to North America from Russia, and is prickly like a thistle.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish idänotakilokki
  • idänotakilokkiSalsola tragus
Cite this entry
APA

Russian thistle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Russian%20thistle

MLA

“Russian thistle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Russian%20thistle. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Russian thistle,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Russian%20thistle.

Source: Russian thistle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.