Why Do Tumbleweeds Tumble?

There’s a biological reason; it’s not just for ambiance in cowboy Westerns.

I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known… Photo by Luismi Sánchez on Unsplash

Tumbleweeds are familiar to anyone who’s a fan of Westerns, the classic cowboy movies. A grizzled man strolls through the desert, spurs clinking on his boots, eyes squinting from beneath the wide brim of a dusty hat. From atop his horse, he gazes out at the barren desert, watching as a barren bundle of branches goes rolling along, propelled by the wind.

This isn’t just a cinematic choice for setting mood. Tumbleweeds are real, although they aren’t one specific species of plant; there are a bunch of different plants that we label as tumbleweeds.

Even the part that’s tumbling will vary from plant to plant. For some plants, it’s almost the whole thing, while it’s a specialized body in others.

But why do these plants tumble? Is this just what happens to old plants in the desert; they dry out and blow away?

Or is a tumbleweed actually a schemer, making use of the environment for a specific purpose?

Let’s look at what these plants are, and why they are far more active than most of their other vegetative brethren.

All the plants that form the tumbleweeds we love