Participant Info

Species

Sisymbrium altissimum [Noria altissima]

Family

Brassicaceae

CommonName

tall tumblemustard, Jim Hlll mustard

Presence

YES

Status

exotic

EarliestDate

1934

LatestDate

2021

Ecosystem

shrubland, foothill, montane, ruderal, urban

Geobotanical

SSawatch, Garitas, SSanjuans, Culebras, NCristos, UBasin

Counties

Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Hinsdale, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache

Passes

WildlifePreserves

Baca, Mountain Home Reservoir, Rio Grande, Russell Lakes

Other Localities

Del Norte

PhotoRecords

YES Richard Haswell: Conejos Co, junction of Hwy 17 and CR 101, 23 June 2021

Comments

In the Watershed, tumblemustard, an exotic from the western Mediterranean, naturalizes readily—into roadsides, fallow fields, and irrigation ditches, foothill meadows, and volcanic slopes (up to about 9,000’). Sisymbrium altissimum has been recorded from around the Valley since 1934. It is one of the plants in the Watershed that form tumbleweeds. There is hardly a state in the USA that doesn't enjoy its presence, although it is least common in the South. It follows the Rio Grande drainage through New Mexico to the tip of west Texas, but no farther down stream.

Annotation