Kali is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of the subfamily Salsoloideae

Salsoloideae

The Salsoloideae is a subfamily of the Amaranthaceae, formerly in family Chenopodiaceae.- Description :These are herbs, subshrubs, shrubs and some trees. Stems and leaves are often succulent. The ovary contains a spiral embryo....

 in the family Amaranthaceae

Amaranthaceae

The flowering plant family Amaranthaceae, the Amaranth family, contains about 176 genera and 2,400 species.- Description :Most of these species are herbs or subshrubs; very few are trees or climbers. Some species are succulent....

. Common names of various members of this genus include tumbleweed

Tumbleweed

A tumbleweed is the above-ground part of a plant that, once mature and dry, disengages from the root and tumbles away in the wind. Usually, the tumbleweed is the entire plant apart from the roots, but in a few species it is a flower cluster. The tumbleweed habit is most common in steppe and desert...

, for its wind-blown seed dispersal habit; and Tartar thistle and Russian thistle

Russian thistle

Russian thistle is a common name that can refer to:*Echinops exaltatus, Russian globe thistle*Salsola, some species, including:*Salsola kali, also known as prickly saltwort*Salsola soda, oppositeleaf Russian thistle...

for its origins.

Systematics

The type species of the genus is Kali soda. The genus consists of 13 species:

• Kali australis (R. Br.) Akhani & E. H. Roalson, (Basionym: Salsola kali R. Br.)
• Kali collina (Pall.) Akhani & E. H. Roalson, (Basionym: Salsola collina Pall.)
• Kali griffithii (Bunge) Akhani & E. H. Roalson, (Basionym: Noaea griffithii Bunge)
• Kali jacquemontii (Moq.) Akhani & E. H. Roalson, (Basionym: Salsola jacquemontii Moq.)
• Kali ikonnikovii (Iljin) Akhani & E. H. Roalson, (Basionym: Salsola ikonnikovii Iljin)
• Kali komarovii (Iljin) Akhani & E. H. Roalson, (Basionym: Salsola komarovii Iljin)
• Kali paulsenii (Litv.) Akhani & E. H. Roalson, (Basionym: Salsola paulsenii Litv.)
• Kali rosasea (L.) Moench
• Kali soda Moench, (Synonym: Salsola kali L.)
• Kali tamamschjanae (Iljin) Akhani & E. H. Roalson, (Basionym: Salsola tamamschjanae Iljin)
• Kali tamariscina (Pall.) Akhani & E. H. Roalson, (Basionym: Salsola tamariscina Pall.)
• Kali tragus (L.) Scop.
• Kali zaidamica (Iljin) Akhani & E. H. Roalson, (Basionym: Salsola zaidamica Iljin)

Invasive Species

Several species, most notably the central Asian Kali tragus, are invasive species

Invasive species

"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....

 outside their native range. They have encroached into parts of North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, where they are listed as noxious weeds by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The salt-tolerant genus was first reported in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 around 1877 in Bon Homme County, South Dakota

Bon Homme County, South Dakota

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,260 people, 2,635 households, and 1,786 families residing in the county. The population density was 13 people per square mile . There were 3,007 housing units at an average density of 5 per square mile...

, apparently transported as a stowaway in Flax

Flax

Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent...

 seed exported by Ukrainian

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

 farmers. South Dakota proved too harsh and dry for growing flax

Flax

Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent...

, however, and by 1900 Kali had colonized as far west as the Pacific Coast

West Coast of the United States

West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

. It was also actively introduced by the U.S.D.A. as experimental food for cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 that could be grown in hard times during droughts. Palatability of the young shoots is considered to be fair. Cattle, sheep, and horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

s eat it if nothing better is available. Small rodent

Rodent

Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....

s and Pronghorn

Pronghorn

The pronghorn is a species of artiodactyl mammal endemic to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the prong buck, pronghorn antelope, or simply antelope, as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and...

 also graze on the young shoots. Kali thrives wherever land use has disturbed the soil

Soil

Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...

. It can be seen in Death Valley, California and in Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

at elevations of 8500 feet (2600 m).