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Bassia hyssopifolia
Also called Five-hooked brassia, Fivehook Bassia, Five Hooked Bassia, Five Horn Smotherweed, Five Horned Bassia, Five Horned Smotherweed, Smotherweed
Fivehorn smotherweed is a low-value annual weed of Eurasia that has spread to North America, South America and Australia. It thrives in disturbed, dry, open ground and spreads by spiny seeds.
Bassia hyssopifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae, known by the common names five-horn smotherweed, five-hook bassia, and thorn orache. It is native to parts of Asia and Eastern Europe, and it is known on other continents as an introduced species, including North and South America and Australia. It is a weed, invasive at times.
The Latin word hyssopifolia (which also occurs in several other plant names, for example that of Cuphea hyssopifolia) means "hyssop-leafed".
This plant is native to Eurasia and was first described from the Caspian Sea region. It may have spread beyond its native range as a seed contaminant, possibly of alfalfa seed. It was first recorded in North America in 1915 near Fallon, Nevada. By 1921, it was noted in the Central Valley of California, and by 1940, it was present from British Columbia to Wyoming and had established in eastern North America. The seeds are probably dispersed when the spiny dry fruits catch in animal fur and feathers, and human activity such as road maintenance may aid their spread and establishment.
Bassia arabica · Forage kochia · Burningbush · Smotherweed · Smotherweed
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Bassia hyssopifolia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
