Botanical description and distribution patterns of Salsola collina

Family: AMARANTHACEAE

Spike-like inflorescences are conical, consisting of perianth leaflets. Fruits are located within the perianths. The perianth is cup-shaped, composed of glabrous, membranous leaflets that extend beyond the fruit as short, leathery, wing-like projections. At the base, the leaflets fuse, harden, and, together with the nutlet, form a gall-like shape. The surface is loosely folded. Color is dark green or gray. Length 1.75–2.5 mm, width 1.5–2 mm, thickness 1.5–1.75 mm. Fruits are snail-like, broadly conical. The pericarp is easily abraded. The surface is coarsely rough. Color is grayish-brown. Length 1.25–2 mm, width 1–1.25 mm. The seed mimics the shape and color of the fruit. It infests crops of cereals and row crops on sandy soils. Distribution: European part (southern regions; adventive in central regions), Volga region, Western and Eastern Siberia, Far East, Central Asia. Toxic properties: specified above.