Family
Chenopodiaceae
Common name
Halogeton
Regulation
Prohibited Noxious, Class 1 in the Canadian Weed Seeds Order, 2016 under the Seeds Act. All imported and domestic seed must be free of Prohibited Noxious weed seeds.
Distribution
Canadian: Absent from Canada (Brouillet et al. 2016Footnote 1).
Worldwide: Native to central Asia (CABI 2016Footnote 2). Introduced and widespread in the western half of the United States (USDA-NRCS 2016Footnote 3).
Duration of life cycle
Annual or Winter annual
Seed or fruit type
Utricle, may be in a perianth
Identification features
Size
- Utricle length: 1.3 - 2.6 mm
- Utricle width: 1.0 - 1.80 mm
- Utricle thickness: 1.8 mm
- Perianth length (without wings): 1.7 - 2.3 mm
- Perianth width: 1.0 - 1.5 mm
Shape
- Oval-shaped utricle with a protruding radicle tip; compressed
Surface texture
- Utricle has a dull surface texture
Colour
- Utricle is brown-orange, perianth is straw yellow
Other features
- Tightly coiled embryo can be seen through utricle and seed walls
- The perianth of some utricles are drawn out into wings at the top of the fruit, 1.5 - 3.0 mm long
Habitat and crop association
Overgrazed rangelands, abandoned farmlands, shrublands, roadsides, railway lines, trails and disturbed areas (CABI 2016Footnote 2).
General information
Halogeton was accidentally introduced into Nevada in 1934, and believed to be initially spread by sheep farming (Blackwell et al. 1979Footnote 4, Pemberton 1986Footnote 5). A prolific seed producer, it can produce more than 100,000 seeds per plant (Pemberton 1986Footnote 5).
Halogeton impedes revegetation due to alteration of soil chemistry, physical structure and the microbial community (Pavek 1992Footnote 6). The high concentration of oxalates in the tissues has caused mass mortalities in sheep (Erickson et al. 1952Footnote 7).
Similar species
Russian thistle (Salsola tragus)
- Similar fruit shape, both have a coiled embryo visible through the utricle and seed walls.
- The utricle of Russian thistle is thicker than halogeton which is compressed.
- Russian thistle utricles have a perianth of a similar shape as halogeton, but the colour is grey and it is funnel-shaped while halogeton is compressed.
Photos
Similar species
