Monsters of invasive monsters come to bury us

Weeds may look soft and fluffy at a distance, but if you hit one with your car, you quickly learn how woody, bristly, and bright. Just look at what happened when Victorville, California, was buried in thunder in 2018.

A new giant somnolent species is booming in the United States. Salsola Ryanii is a hybrid whose size exceeds that of mother plants. It can reach a height of 2 meters and therefore does not look like those adorable little arbours you see in Western movies.

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, have looked more closely at why this monster plant is flourishing and have published a study in the journal AoB Plants.

Salsola ryannii is created from a cross of two invasive species It has additional sets of chromosomes from its parents, a state known as "polyploidy". Polylploidy is common in plants. For comparison, almost all humans have only one set of chromosomes from each parent.

Research suggests that semolina size and success is due to its polyploidy. As a hybrid, he is more vigorous than his parents.

Norman Ellstrand, professor of genetics at UC Riverside and co-author of the study, described Salsoa ryanni as "nasty" in a statement released last week.

The plant, which was found in California, could seek to expand its territory.

"It's one of the only things still green in late summer," said Shana Welles, co-author of the study. "They could be well placed to take advantage of the summer rains if climate change made them more frequent."

It may be only a matter of time before the Syfy channel produces a film called Tumbleweednado.