Tall Tumblemustard

In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Foodplant / parasite
Erysiphe cruciferarum parasitises live Sisymbrium altissimum

The above first record from Xizang is based on Chaffanjon 406 (P).

This species is a noxious weed and is usually a host to several viruses of crop plants.

Easily distinguished by its narrow, linear lobes of upper leaves, elongated siliquae with equally thickened pedicels.

Herbs annual, (20-)40-120(-160) cm tall. Stems erect, branched above, sparsely to densely hirsute near base, glabrous or subglabrous above. Basal leaves rosulate; petiole 1-10(-15) cm; leaf blade broadly oblanceolate, oblong or lanceolate in outline, pinnatisect, pinnatifid, or runcinate, (2-)5-20(-35) × (1-)2-8(-10) cm; lateral lobes (3 or)4-6(-8) on each side of midvein, smaller than terminal one, oblong or lanceolate, entire, dentate, or lobed. Uppermost cauline leaves with narrowly linear to filiform lobes. Fruiting pedicels divaricate or rarely ascending, stout, nearly as thick as fruit, (4-)6-10(-13) mm. Sepals oblong, cucullate, ascending or spreading, 4-6 × 1-2 mm. Petals yellow, spatulate, (5-)6-8(-10) × 2.5-4 mm; claw subequaling sepals. Filaments yellowish, erect, 2-6 mm; anthers oblong, 1.5-2.2 mm. Ovules 90-120 per ovary. Fruit narrowly linear, stout, terete, (4.5-)6-9(-12) cm × 1-2 mm, usually straight; valves glabrous, smooth; style subclavate, 0.5-2 mm; stigma prominently 2-lobed; septum slightly thickened. Seeds oblong, 0.8-1 × 0.5-0.6 mm, inserted in depressions of septum. Fl. Apr-Jul, fr. May-Aug. 2n = 14.

Annual or biennial, 20-60 (-90) cm tall, erect, branched above, ciliately hairy with long, simple hairs, subglabrous above. Basal and lower leaves loosely rosulate, shortly petioled, runcinate-pinnatifid, 6-15 (-20) cm long, 3-8 cm broad; terminal lobe large, ovate, distantly lobulate, toothed to entire; lateral lobes (4-) 6-8 paired, narrowly oblong; upper leaves 5-7-jugate, with linear to filiform lobes. Racemes 15-25-flowered, up to 30 cm long in fruit, lax. Flowers 5-6 mm across, yellowish; pedicels (5-) 8-12 mm long in fruit, thickened, sub-spreading or ascending. Sepals 4-6 mm long. Petals (6-) 9-12 mm long, c. 4 mm broad, rarely much reduced. Stamens c. 5:7 mm long; anthers c. 2 mm long. Siliquae (50-) 80-100 mm long, 1-1.5 mm broad, linear-subcylindrical, slightly terete, usually straight, glabrous; valves somewhat rigid, 3-veined; style 1-2 mm long, thickened with ± bilobed, capitate-coronate stigma; septum submembranous, somewhat thickened between the seeds; seeds 40-60 in each locule, c. 1 mm long, ellipsoid, brown.

Liaoning, Xinjiang, Xizang [Afghanistan, India, Japan, Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan; native to Europe and W Asia; naturalized worldwide].

Distribution: Europe, C. and S.W. Asia, Afghanistan. Pakistan and Kashmir.

Fl. Per.: April-July.

Roadsides, fields, pastures, waste grounds, disturbed sites, grasslands; sea level to 2500 m.

More info for the terms: cover, forb, frequency, litter, prescribed fire, succession

Burning does not always increase tall tumblemustard cover [112,132,147].
In his classic study of postfire succession of tall tumblemustard and other
exotics in big sagebrush, Piemeisel [96] wrote "the mere statement that a field
has been burned is not sufficient information to foretell what the effect will
be on the succeeding plant cover."

Frequency of tall tumblemustard on 50 × 50-cm
plots burned under prescription on 15 September 1983 on the Shoshone District,
Idaho BLM, was 8.8% in autumn 1982 (prefire), 1.3% in 1983 (postfire), 23.8% in 1984,
and 86.3% in 1986. Burning was conducted in threetip sagebrush (Artemisia
tripartita) and successfully reduced persistent litter. Macrobiotic soil
crusts began recovery in postfire year 3. Burning conditions were [19]:

temperature 70o F
relative humidity 14%
windspeed 5-8 mph
live sagebrush moisture 92%
soil moisture 4%

Fall and spring prescribed burning in a basin big sagebrush community in east-central Oregon had no significant
effect on tall tumblemustard frequency in postfire year 1 or 2 [105]. See the Research Project Summary of this work for more information on fire effects
on tall tumblemustard and 60 additional forb, grass, and woody plant species.

The Research Project Summary Nonnative annual grass fuels and fire in
California's Mojave Desert provides information on prescribed fire and postfire response
of tall tumblemustard and other plant community species.

tall tumblemustard

Jim Hill mustard

tall hedge-mustard

tumble mustard

tumbling mustard

More info for the terms: fruit, perfect, silique

Tall tumblemustard is an exotic winter annual or biennial. It is the tallest species in the genus, reaching 4.9 feet (1.5 m) or more in height. Growth form is rounded and freely branching from a single basal stem. Leaves are 0.4 to 7.9 inches (1-20 cm) long, becoming smaller up the stem. The inflorescence is a raceme of perfect flowers. The fruit is a 2- to 3.9-inch-long (5-10 cm), narrow silique with 120 or more small (~1 mm in length), wingless seeds [56,62,88,99,122,126,129,130]. Tall tumblemustard has a thick taproot [122,141]. Maximum root depth of plants in Wyoming averaged 17 inches (43 cm) over 2 years, ranging from 9.1 to 23 inches (23-58 cm). Of 7 annuals species excavated, only Russian-thistle grew longer roots [2].

More info for the term: seed

Tall tumblemustard is native to Eurasia. It is widely naturalized throughout most of the world [119] including most of Canada and the United States. Tall tumblemustard does not occur in eastern Nunavut, western Newfoundland, or Alabama [75], and is rare in Florida [140]. It is mostly absent from Mexico, occurring only in the northern tip of Baja California Norte [136]. Tall tumblemustard was probably introduced in North America as a contaminant in imported crop seed [78]. Plants database provides a map of tumble mustard's distribution in the Untied States.

The following biogeographic classification systems are presented as a guide to where tall tumblemustard may be found. Precise distribution information is limited. Because it is so widespread, it is difficult to exclude many ecosystems as potential hosts of tall tumblemustard plants or populations; therefore, these lists are speculative.

More info for the terms: fire regime, forest, frequency, invasive species, seed, shrub, woodland

Fire adaptations: Tall tumblemustard establishes from soil-stored seed after fire [41,45,108,137]. Wind, machinery, and animal transport from off-site may provide additional sources of seed [145] or introduce tall tumblemustard on burns where it was not already present in the soil seed bank. Fire creates conditions favorable for tall tumblemustard establishment (bare soil, open canopy, reduced growth interference) [97]. As a shade-intolerant, invasive species, tumble mustard can thrive in early postfire environments [26,71,72,139].

FIRE REGIMES: Introduced species can alter the probability of occurrence of fire, the rate of fire spread, and the intensity of fire in an ecosystem [30]. The degree of change and impacts on native ecosystems vary with differences in species composition and structure of invaded plant communities [17,111]. Historic FIRE REGIMES in big sagebrush/bunchgrass ecosystems, where tumble mustard is common, are variable. Fire return intervals range between 10 and 70 years [7,18,87,92,125,148]. The introduction and increasing dominance of cheatgrass has changed the seasonal occurrence, frequency, and size of wildfires in these ecosystems, thus altering successional patterns [13,95,131,134,143]. Tumble mustard invaded the western Unites States shortly before cheatgrass [78,88]. There is no evidence suggesting that tall tumblemustard alone has altered historic fire patterns in sagebrush steppe, but interactive effects of tumble mustard and cheatgrass are largely unstudied. Further research is needed on the impacts of tall tumblemustard invasion in sagebrush steppe and other ecosystems where weeds have drastically altered FIRE REGIMES.

Because tall tumblemustard is widespread, it is difficult to exclude many ecosystems as potential hosts of tall tumblemustard plants or populations. The following table provides some fire regime intervals for plant communities where tall tumblemustard may be important. For further information, see the FEIS summary on the dominant species listed below. Find further fire regime information for the plant communities in which this species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under "Find FIRE REGIMES".

Community or Ecosystem Dominant Species Fire Return Interval Range (years) maple-beech-birch Acer-Fagus-Betula > 1,000 silver maple-American elm Acer saccharinum-Ulmus americana < 35 to 200 sugar maple A. saccharum > 1,000 sugar maple-basswood A. saccharum-Tilia americana > 1,000 [127] California chaparral Adenostoma and/or Arctostaphylos spp. 92] bluestem prairie Andropogon gerardii var. gerardii-Schizachyrium scoparium 79,92] Nebraska sandhills prairie A. gerardii var. paucipilus-S. scoparium < 10 bluestem-Sacahuista prairie A. littoralis-Spartina spartinae 92] silver sagebrush steppe Artemisia cana 5-45 [60,98,138] sagebrush steppe A. tridentata/Pseudoroegneria spicata 20-70 [92] basin big sagebrush A. tridentata var. tridentata 12-43 [105] mountain big sagebrush A. tridentata var. vaseyana 15-40 [7,18,87] Wyoming big sagebrush A. tridentata var. wyomingensis 10-70 (40**) [125,148] coastal sagebrush A. californica < 35 to < 100 saltbush-greasewood Atriplex confertifolia-Sarcobatus vermiculatus < 35 to < 100 desert grasslands Bouteloua eriopoda and/or Pleuraphis mutica 5-100 [92] plains grasslands Bouteloua spp. 92,138] blue grama-needle-and-thread grass-western wheatgrass B. gracilis-Hesperostipa comata-Pascopyrum smithii < 35 [92,104,138] blue grama-buffalo grass B. gracilis-Buchloe dactyloides 92,138] grama-galleta steppe Bouteloua gracilis-Pleuraphis jamesii < 35 to < 100 blue grama-tobosa prairie B. gracilis-P. mutica 92] cheatgrass Bromus tectorum 95,134] California montane chaparral Ceanothus and/or Arctostaphylos spp. 50-100 [92] sugarberry-America elm-green ash Celtis laevigata-Ulmus americana-Fraxinus pennsylvanica 127] paloverde-cactus shrub Cercidium microphyllum/Opuntia spp. 92] curlleaf mountain-mahogany* Cercocarpus ledifolius 13-1,000 [8,107] mountain-mahogany-Gambel oak scrub C. ledifolius-Quercus gambelii 92] Atlantic white-cedar Chamaecyparis thyoides 35 to > 200 [127] blackbrush Coleogyne ramosissima < 35 to < 100 Arizona cypress Cupressus arizonica 92] beech-sugar maple Fagus spp.-Acer saccharum > 1,000 [127] California steppe Festuca-Danthonia spp. 92,116] black ash Fraxinus nigra 127] juniper-oak savanna Juniperus ashei-Quercus virginiana < 35 Ashe juniper J. ashei < 35 western juniper J. occidentalis 20-70 Rocky Mountain juniper J. scopulorum < 35 cedar glades J. virginiana 3-7 tamarack Larix laricina 35-200 creosotebush Larrea tridentata < 35 to < 100 Ceniza shrub L. tridentata-Leucophyllum frutescens-Prosopis glandulosa 92] yellow-poplar Liriodendron tulipifera 127] wheatgrass plains grasslands Pascopyrum smithii < 5-47+ [92,98,138] Great Lakes spruce-fir Picea-Abies spp. 35 to > 200 northeastern spruce-fir Picea-Abies spp. 35-200 [34] southeastern spruce-fir Picea-Abies spp. 35 to > 200 [127] black spruce P. mariana 35-200 [34] pine-cypress forest Pinus-Cupressus spp. pinyon-juniper Pinus-Juniperus spp. 92] jack pine P. banksiana 34] Mexican pinyon P. cembroides 20-70 [89,118] shortleaf pine P. echinata 2-15 shortleaf pine-oak P. echinata-Quercus spp. 127] Colorado pinyon P. edulis 10-400+ [44,53,92] slash pine P. elliottii 3-8 slash pine-hardwood P. elliottii-variable < 35 sand pine P. elliottii var. elliottii 25-45 [127] longleaf-slash pine P. palustris-P. elliottii 1-4 [90,127] longleaf pine-scrub oak P. palustris-Quercus spp. 6-10 [127] Pacific ponderosa pine* P. ponderosa var. ponderosa 1-47 [6] interior ponderosa pine* P. ponderosa var. scopulorum 2-30 [6,9,82] Arizona pine P. ponderosa var. arizonica 2-15 [9,29,109] Table Mountain pine P. pungens 127] red pine (Great Lakes region) P. resinosa 10-200 (10**) [34,48] red-white-jack pine* P. resinosa-P. strobus-P. banksiana 10-300 [34,58] pitch pine P. rigida 6-25 [16,59] pocosin P. serotina 3-8 pond pine P. serotina 3-8 eastern white pine P. strobus 35-200 eastern white pine-eastern hemlock P. strobus-Tsuga canadensis 35-200 eastern white pine-northern red oak-red maple P. strobus-Quercus rubra-Acer rubrum 35-200 loblolly pine P. taeda 3-8 loblolly-shortleaf pine P. taeda-P. echinata 10 to < 35 Virginia pine P. virginiana 10 to < 35 Virginia pine-oak P. virginiana-Quercus spp. 10 to < 35 sycamore-sweetgum-American elm Platanus occidentalis-Liquidambar styraciflua-Ulmus americana 127] galleta-threeawn shrubsteppe Pleuraphis jamesii-Aristida purpurea < 35 to < 100 eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides 92] aspen-birch P. tremuloides-Betula papyrifera 35-200 [34,127] mesquite Prosopis glandulosa 86,92] mesquite-buffalo grass P. glandulosa-Buchloe dactyloides < 35 Texas savanna P. glandulosa var. glandulosa 92] black cherry-sugar maple Prunus serotina-Acer saccharum > 1,000 [127] mountain grasslands Pseudoroegneria spicata 3-40 (10**) [5,6] California mixed evergreen Pseudotsuga menziesii var. m.-Lithocarpus densiflorus-Arbutus menziesii < 35 California oakwoods Quercus spp. 6] oak-hickory Quercus-Carya spp. 127] oak-juniper woodland (Southwest) Quercus-Juniperus spp. 92] northeastern oak-pine Quercus-Pinus spp. 10 to 127] oak-gum-cypress Quercus-Nyssa-spp.-Taxodium distichum 35 to > 200 [90] southeastern oak-pine Quercus-Pinus spp. 127] coast live oak Q. agrifolia 2-75 [57] white oak-black oak-northern red oak Q. alba-Q. velutina-Q. rubra 127] canyon live oak Q. chrysolepis <35 to 200 blue oak-foothills pine Q. douglasii-P. sabiniana 6] northern pin oak Q. ellipsoidalis 127] Oregon white oak Q. garryana 6] bear oak Q. ilicifolia 127] California black oak Q. kelloggii 5-30 [92] bur oak Q. macrocarpa 127] oak savanna Q. macrocarpa/Andropogon gerardii-Schizachyrium scoparium 2-14 [92,127] shinnery Q. mohriana 92] chestnut oak Q. prinus 3-8 northern red oak Q. rubra 10 to < 35 post oak-blackjack oak Q. stellata-Q. marilandica < 10 black oak Q. velutina < 35 live oak Q. virginiana 10 to127] interior live oak Q. wislizenii 6] cabbage palmetto-slash pine Sabal palmetto-Pinus elliottii 90,127] blackland prairie Schizachyrium scoparium-Nassella leucotricha < 10 Fayette prairie Schizachyrium scoparium-Buchloe dactyloides < 10 little bluestem-grama prairie S. scoparium-Bouteloua spp. 92] baldcypress Taxodium distichum var. distichum 100 to > 300 pondcypress T. distichum var. nutans 90] western redcedar-western hemlock Thuja plicata-Tsuga heterophylla > 200 [6] eastern hemlock-yellow birch Tsuga canadensis-Betula alleghaniensis > 200 [127] western hemlock-Sitka spruce T. heterophylla-Picea sitchensis > 200 [6] elm-ash-cottonwood Ulmus-Fraxinus-Populus spp. 34,127] *fire return interval varies widely; trends in variation are noted in the species summary
**mean

More info for the term: seed

Fire as a control agent: There are no published studies on using fire to control tall tumblemustard, but given tumble mustard's positive response to increased light and nutrients and open ground, fire alone is unlikely to provide control of tall tumblemustard. If tumble tansymustard is already onsite in the seed bank, or as a few plants, fire is likely to increase the species' importance in the early postfire community.

More info on this topic.

More info for the term: therophyte

RAUNKIAER [100] LIFE FORM:
Therophyte

More info for the terms: cover, restoration

On native soils in the Middle East, tall tumblemustard grows on desert foothills. Tall tumblemustard is a common agricultural weed in its native Asia and throughout most of the rest of the world [78]. In North America it is a common weed of old fields, roadsides, and other disturbed places [56,66,68,83,91,126] such as alluvial fans [145] and disturbed rangelands [122].

Soils: Tall tumblemustard grows in soils of all textures, and is common on sand [91]. It readily establishes on loose, highly disturbed soils such as rodent mounds [106,115], but can also grow on compacted soils. On a Mojave Desert restoration site in Antelope Valley, California, native seeded-in species did not establish on a highly disturbed site with compacted soil; however, tall tumblemustard colonized the site and established dense cover [55].

Elevation: Tall tumblemustard has been recorded at the following ranges:

State Elevation CA < 8,200 ft (2,500 m) [62] NM 5,000-7,000 ft (1,500-2,100 m) [83] NV 1,400-6,500 ft (430-2,000 m) [76] UT 2,660-7,190 ft (820-2,410 m) [130]

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

More info for the terms: cover, swamp

SAF COVER TYPES [42]:




1 Jack pine

5 Balsam fir

12 Black spruce

13 Black spruce-tamarack

14 Northern pin oak

15 Red pine

16 Aspen

17 Pin cherry

18 Paper birch

19 Gray birch-red maple

20 White pine-northern red oak-red maple

21 Eastern white pine

22 White pine-hemlock

23 Eastern hemlock

24 Hemlock-yellow birch

25 Sugar maple-beech-yellow birch

26 Sugar maple-basswood

27 Sugar maple

28 Black cherry-maple

30 Red spruce-yellow birch

31 Red spruce-sugar maple-beech

32 Red spruce

33 Red spruce-balsam fir

34 Red spruce-Fraser fir

35 Paper birch-red spruce-balsam fir

37 Northern white-cedar

38 Tamarack

39 Black ash-American elm-red maple

40 Post oak-blackjack oak

42 Bur oak

43 Bear oak

44 Chestnut oak

45 Pitch pine

46 Eastern redcedar

50 Black locust

51 White pine-chestnut oak

52 White oak-black oak-northern red oak

53 White oak

55 Northern red oak

57 Yellow-poplar

58 Yellow-poplar-eastern hemlock

59 Yellow-poplar-white oak-northern red oak

60 Beech-sugar maple

61 River birch-sycamore

62 Silver maple-American elm

63 Cottonwood

64 Sassafras-persimmon

65 Pin oak-sweetgum

66 Ashe juniper-redberry (Pinchot) juniper

67 Mohrs (shin) oak

68 Mesquite

69 Sand pine

70 Longleaf pine

71 Longleaf pine-scrub oak

72 Southern scrub oak

73 Southern redcedar

74 Cabbage palmetto

75 Shortleaf pine

76 Shortleaf pine-oak

78 Virginia pine-oak

79 Virginia pine

80 Loblolly pine-shortleaf pine

81 Loblolly pine

82 Loblolly pine-hardwood

83 Longleaf pine-slash pine

84 Slash pine

85 Slash pine-hardwood

87 Sweetgum-yellow-poplar

88 Willow oak-water oak-diamondleaf (laurel) oak

89 Live oak

91 Swamp chestnut oak-cherrybark oak

92 Sweetgum-willow oak

93 Sugarberry-American elm-green ash

94 Sycamore-sweetgum-American elm

95 Black willow

96 Overcup oak-water hickory

97 Atlantic white-cedar

98 Pond pine

100 Pondcypress

101 Baldcypress

102 Baldcypress-tupelo

105 Tropical hardwoods

107 White spruce

108 Red maple

109 Hawthorn

110 Black oak

111 South Florida slash pine

201 White spruce

202 White spruce-paper birch

203 Balsam poplar

204 Black spruce

219 Limber pine

220 Rocky Mountain juniper

221 Red alder

222 Black cottonwood-willow

223 Sitka spruce

224 Western hemlock

225 Western hemlock-Sitka spruce

226 Coastal true fir-hemlock

227 Western redcedar-western hemlock

233 Oregon white oak

235 Cottonwood-willow

236 Bur oak

237 Interior ponderosa pine

238 Western juniper

239 Pinyon-juniper

240 Arizona cypress

241 Western live oak

242 Mesquite

245 Pacific ponderosa pine

246 California black oak

247 Jeffrey pine

248 Knobcone pine

249 Canyon live oak

250 Blue oak-foothills pine

251 White spruce-aspen

252 Paper birch

253 Black spruce-white spruce

254 Black spruce-paper birch

255 California coast live oak

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

More info for the term: shrub

ECOSYSTEMS [49]:




FRES10 White-red-jack pine

FRES11 Spruce-fir

FRES12 Longleaf-slash pine

FRES13 Loblolly-shortleaf pine

FRES14 Oak-pine

FRES15 Oak-hickory

FRES16 Oak-gum-cypress

FRES17 Elm-ash-cottonwood

FRES18 Maple-beech-birch

FRES19 Aspen-birch

FRES21 Ponderosa pine

FRES24 Hemlock-Sitka spruce

FRES28 Western hardwoods

FRES29 Sagebrush

FRES30 Desert shrub

FRES31 Shinnery

FRES32 Texas savanna

FRES33 Southwestern shrubsteppe

FRES34 Chaparral-mountain shrub

FRES35 Pinyon-juniper

FRES36 Mountain grasslands

FRES37 Mountain meadows

FRES38 Plains grasslands

FRES39 Prairie

FRES40 Desert grasslands

FRES41 Wet grasslands

FRES42 Annual grasslands

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

More info for the terms: forest, shrub, woodland

KUCHLER [80] PLANT ASSOCIATIONS:




K001 Spruce-cedar-hemlock forest

K009 Pine-cypress forest

K010 Ponderosa shrub forest

K011 Western ponderosa forest

K013 Cedar-hemlock-pine forest

K016 Eastern ponderosa forest

K017 Black Hills pine forest

K019 Arizona pine forest

K022 Great Basin pine forest

K023 Juniper-pinyon woodland

K024 Juniper steppe woodland

K025 Alder-ash forest

K026 Oregon oakwoods

K027 Mesquite bosques

K028 Mosaic of K002 and K026

K029 California mixed evergreen forest

K030 California oakwoods

K031 Oak-juniper woodland

K032 Transition between K031 and K037

K033 Chaparral

K034 Montane chaparral

K035 Coastal sagebrush

K036 Mosaic of K030 and K035

K037 Mountain-mahogany-oak scrub

K038 Great Basin sagebrush

K039 Blackbrush

K040 Saltbush-greasewood

K041 Creosote bush

K042 Creosote bush-bur sage

K043 Paloverde-cactus shrub

K044 Creosote bush-tarbush

K045 Ceniza shrub

K046 Desert: vegetation largely lacking

K047 Fescue-oatgrass

K048 California steppe

K049 Tule marshes

K050 Fescue-wheatgrass

K051 Wheatgrass-bluegrass

K053 Grama-galleta steppe

K054 Grama-tobosa prairie

K055 Sagebrush steppe

K056 Wheatgrass-needlegrass shrubsteppe

K057 Galleta-threeawn shrubsteppe

K058 Grama-tobosa shrubsteppe

K059 Trans-Pecos shrub savanna

K060 Mesquite savanna

K061 Mesquite-acacia savanna

K062 Mesquite-live oak savanna

K063 Foothills prairie

K064 Grama-needlegrass-wheatgrass

K065 Grama-buffalo grass

K066 Wheatgrass-needlegrass

K067 Wheatgrass-bluestem-needlegrass

K068 Wheatgrass-grama-buffalo grass

K069 Bluestem-grama prairie

K070 Sandsage-bluestem prairie

K071 Shinnery

K072 Sea oats prairie

K073 Northern cordgrass prairie

K074 Bluestem prairie

K075 Nebraska Sandhills prairie

K076 Blackland prairie

K077 Bluestem-sacahuista prairie

K081 Oak savanna

K082 Mosaic of K074 and K100

K083 Cedar glades

K084 Cross Timbers

K085 Mesquite-buffalo grass

K086 Juniper-oak savanna

K087 Mesquite-oak savanna

K088 Fayette prairie

K089 Black Belt

K090 Live oak-sea oats

K091 Cypress savanna

K093 Great Lakes spruce-fir forest

K095 Great Lakes pine forest

K096 Northeastern spruce-fir forest

K097 Southeastern spruce-fir forest

K098 Northern floodplain forest

K099 Maple-basswood forest

K100 Oak-hickory forest

K101 Elm-ash forest

K102 Beech-maple forest

K103 Mixed mesophytic forest

K104 Appalachian oak forest

K106 Northern hardwoods

K107 Northern hardwoods-fir forest

K108 Northern hardwoods-spruce forest

K109 Transition between K104 and K106

K110 Northeastern oak-pine forest

K111 Oak-hickory-pine

K112 Southern mixed forest

K113 Southern floodplain forest

K114 Pocosin

K115 Sand pine scrub

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in association with the following Rangeland Cover Types (as classified by the Society for Range Management, SRM):

More info for the terms: association, cover, forest, grassland, hardwood, marsh, shrub, shrubland, vine, woodland

SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES [111]:




101 Bluebunch wheatgrass

102 Idaho fescue

103 Green fescue

104 Antelope bitterbrush-bluebunch wheatgrass

105 Antelope bitterbrush-Idaho fescue

106 Bluegrass scabland

107 Western juniper/big sagebrush/bluebunch wheatgrass

108 Alpine Idaho fescue

109 Ponderosa pine shrubland

110 Ponderosa pine-grassland

201 Blue oak woodland

202 Coast live oak woodland

203 Riparian woodland

204 North coastal shrub

205 Coastal sage shrub

206 Chamise chaparral

207 Scrub oak mixed chaparral

208 Ceanothus mixed chaparral

209 Montane shrubland

210 Bitterbrush

211 Creosote bush scrub

212 Blackbush

214 Coastal prairie

215 Valley grassland

216 Montane meadows

217 Wetlands

301 Bluebunch wheatgrass-blue grama

302 Bluebunch wheatgrass-Sandberg bluegrass

303 Bluebunch wheatgrass-western wheatgrass

304 Idaho fescue-bluebunch wheatgrass

305 Idaho fescue-Richardson needlegrass

306 Idaho fescue-slender wheatgrass

307 Idaho fescue-threadleaf sedge

308 Idaho fescue-tufted hairgrass

309 Idaho fescue-western wheatgrass

310 Needle-and-thread-blue grama

311 Rough fescue-bluebunch wheatgrass

312 Rough fescue-Idaho fescue

313 Tufted hairgrass-sedge

314 Big sagebrush-bluebunch wheatgrass

315 Big sagebrush-Idaho fescue

316 Big sagebrush-rough fescue

317 Bitterbrush-bluebunch wheatgrass

318 Bitterbrush-Idaho fescue

319 Bitterbrush-rough fescue

320 Black sagebrush-bluebunch wheatgrass

321 Black sagebrush-Idaho fescue

322 Curlleaf mountain-mahogany-bluebunch wheatgrass

323 Shrubby cinquefoil-rough fescue

324 Threetip sagebrush-Idaho fescue

401 Basin big sagebrush

402 Mountain big sagebrush

403 Wyoming big sagebrush

404 Threetip sagebrush

405 Black sagebrush

406 Low sagebrush

407 Stiff sagebrush

408 Other sagebrush types

412 Juniper-pinyon woodland

413 Gambel oak

414 Salt desert shrub

415 Curlleaf mountain-mahogany

416 True mountain-mahogany

417 Littleleaf mountain-mahogany

418 Bigtooth maple

419 Bittercherry

420 Snowbrush

421 Chokecherry-serviceberry-rose

422 Riparian

501 Saltbush-greasewood

502 Grama-galleta

503 Arizona chaparral

504 Juniper-pinyon pine woodland

505 Grama-tobosa shrub

506 Creosotebush-bursage

507 Palo verde-cactus

508 Creosotebush-tarbush

509 Transition between oak-juniper woodland and mahogany-oak association

601 Bluestem prairie

602 Bluestem-prairie sandreed

603 Prairie sandreed-needlegrass

604 Bluestem-grama prairie

605 Sandsage prairie

606 Wheatgrass-bluestem-needlegrass

607 Wheatgrass-needlegrass

608 Wheatgrass-grama-needlegrass

609 Wheatgrass-grama

610 Wheatgrass

611 Blue grama-buffalo grass

612 Sagebrush-grass

613 Fescue grassland

614 Crested wheatgrass

615 Wheatgrass-saltgrass-grama

701 Alkali sacaton-tobosagrass

702 Black grama-alkali sacaton

703 Black grama-sideoats grama

704 Blue grama-western wheatgrass

705 Blue grama-galleta

706 Blue grama-sideoats grama

707 Blue grama-sideoats grama-black grama

708 Bluestem-dropseed

709 Bluestem-grama

710 Bluestem prairie

711 Bluestem-sacahuista prairie

712 Galleta-alkali sacaton

713 Grama-muhly-threeawn

714 Grama-bluestem**

715 Grama-buffalo grass

716 Grama-feathergrass

717 Little bluestem-Indiangrass-Texas wintergrass

718 Mesquite-grama

719 Mesquite-liveoak-seacoast bluestem

720 Sand bluestem-little bluestem (dunes)

721 Sand bluestem-little bluestem (plains)

722 Sand sagebrush-mixed prairie

723 Sea oats

724 Sideoats grama-New Mexico feathergrass-winterfat

725 Vine mesquite-alkali sacaton

727 Mesquite-buffalo grass

728 Mesquite-granjeno-acacia

729 Mesquite

730 Sand shinnery oak

731 Cross timbers-Oklahoma

732 Cross timbers-Texas (little bluestem-post oak)

733 Juniper-oak

734 Mesquite-oak

735 Sideoats grama-sumac-juniper

801 Savanna

802 Missouri prairie

803 Missouri glades

804 Tall fescue

805 Riparian

808 Sand pine scrub

809 Mixed hardwood and pine

810 Longleaf pine-turkey oak hills

812 North Florida flatwoods

813 Cutthroat seeps

814 Cabbage palm flatwoods

815 Upland hardwood hammocks

816 Cabbage palm hammocks

817 Oak hammocks

818 Florida salt marsh

819 Freshwater marsh and ponds

820 Everglades flatwoods

821 Pitcher plant bogs

822 Slough

ALASKA RANGELANDS

901 Alder

904 Black spruce-lichen

905 Bluejoint reedgrass

906 Broadleaf forest

907 Dryas

908 Fescue

915 Mixed herb-herbaceous

920 White spruce-paper birch

921 Willow

More info for the terms: root crown, seed

While in the rosette stage, tall tumblemustard may be top-killed by fire. If the root crown is not damaged, tall tumblemustard rosettes can sprout  new basal leaves from the root crown. As an annual with a single stem, tall tumblemustard lacks adaptations for regrowth once it has bolted, and plants burned after the rosette stage are killed [51]. Research on fire's impact to the seed bank is lacking as of this writing (2003), but fire probably has little effect on tall tumblemustard seed populations. Tall tumblemustard has tiny seeds [56,62,88,99,122,126,129,130] that easily fall into fire-safe microsites such as soil crevices [55,144,148]. While fire is likely to kill some seed, its overall effect to the tall tumblemustard seed bank is probably negligible.

More info for the terms: competition, cover, density, fire management, frequency, herbaceous, interference, litter, natural, seed

Impacts: Next to cheatgrass, tumble mustard is the 2nd most invasive alien plant species in the Great Basin [144,149]. Allen and Knight [2] suggest tall tumblemustard's success as an invasive weed is due to more effective seed dispersal compared to native herbaceous perennials, morphological plasticity in response to density stress (tall tumblemustard plants are short with shallow roots when crowded, but still produce numerous seeds), and earlier germination and more rapid seedling growth compared to native herbs.

Range: Tall tumblemustard is uncommon on good- to excellent-condition rangeland, and is an indicator of deteriorating rangeland quality [69]. Rangelands dominated by tall tumblemustard and other annuals show poor productivity compared to ranges dominated by perennial grasses [94]. Tall tumblemustard increases in response to grazing [93]. In mountain grasslands of central Utah, it was among the most important invaders on overgrazed plots in bluebunch wheatgrass-Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda) along with cheatgrass, Russian-thistle, cutleaf filaree, and yellow salsify (Tragopogon dubius) [22]. Daubemire [31] described tall tumblemustard as a seral species that benefits from grazing by release from the competition of more palatable species, but declines in frequency when successionally replaced.

Cropland: Tall tumblemustard is a serious crop weed [122,153]. Hay or grain infested with tall tumblemustard seeds is unpalatable to cattle and horses [122]. Tall tumblemustard is an alternate host for several crop diseases including potato leafroll virus [47,120].

Tall tumblemustard absorbs soil contaminants such as heavy metals and radioactive waste. Due to its tumbling habit, it may spread the contaminants to other sites [128].

Control: Tall tumblemustard does not usually persist in late-seral communities and may not require special control measures. Canopy closure, litter accumulation and/or growth interference from later-successional species tend to exclude tall tumblemustard over time.

Prevention: Since tall tumblemustard is an early seral species, minimizing soil disturbance and seed dispersal and maintaining a healthy plant community is the best way to prevent establishment of tumble mustard [28]. Anderson and Inouye [3] found sagebrush steppe ecosystems of southeastern Idaho were statistically more resistant to invasion by tall tumblemustard and other exotic annuals when cover of native species was high (R2=0.16, P=0.008).

Integrated management: Land management practices that promote later-successional species can exclude tall tumblemustard from most plant communities [28]. Managers are encouraged to use combinations of control techniques that are appropriate to the site objectives, desired plant community, available resources, and timing of application. For information on integrated weed management without herbicides, see the Bio-Integral Resource Center (BIRC) website.

Physical/mechanical: Small infestations of tumble mustard can be controlled by hand pulling rosettes in the fall or early spring [28].

Fire: See Fire Management Considerations.

Biological: In free-choice trials, tall tumblemustard was the most palatable of 18 early successional annuals and biennials to native and introduced slug species [21].

Chemical: Herbicides are effective in gaining initial control of a new invasion or a severe infestation, but are rarely a complete or long-term solution to weed management [20]. Herbicides are more effective on large infestations when incorporated into long-term management plans that include replacement of weeds with desirable species, careful land use management, and prevention of new infestations. Control with herbicides is temporary, as it does not change those conditions that allow infestations to occur [151]. See the Weed Control Methods Handbook for considerations on the use of herbicides in natural areas and detailed information on specific chemicals.

Tall tumblemustard is susceptible to broadleaf herbicides including 2,4-D, MCPA, bromoxynil, atrazine, and chlorsulfon [1,36,77,117]. Phenoxy herbicides such as 2,4-D and MCPA provide best control (90-99%) [1,77,117].

Cultural: No information

More info for the term: cover

All classes of livestock consume minor to moderate amounts of tall tumblemustard, depending upon availability of other, more palatable forage [69]. For example, Rocky Mountain mule deer consume minor amounts of tall tumblemustard throughout the growing season [81]. Black-tailed jackrabbit in southern Idaho ate minor amounts of tall tumblemustard in summer [43]. Tall tumblemustard was a minor item in the spring diet of Townsend's ground squirrels on the Arid Land Ecology Reserve of Washington [72,73].

Palatability/nutritional value: Tall tumblemustard is palatable to livestock when young. Palatability of mature plants is low. The seeds are unpalatable to livestock [122]. Palatability of tall tumblemustard for livestock and wildlife has been rated as follows [33]:

  MT ND UT WY cattle poor poor poor fair domestic sheep fair fair fair fair horses poor poor fair ---- pronghorn ---- ---- fair ---- elk poor ---- fair ---- mule deer poor ---- fair ---- small mammals ---- ---- fair ---- small nongame birds ---- ---- fair ---- upland game birds ---- ---- fair ---- waterfowl ---- ---- poor ----

Cover value of tall tumblemustard for Utah wildlife has been rated as follows [33]:

pronghorn poor elk poor mule deer poor small mammals fair small game birds fair upland game birds fair waterfowl poor

More info for the terms: cover, shrubland

Tall tumblemustard occurs in disturbed plant communities throughout most of the
United States and Canada. It is most invasive in the West, where it is common
below the ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) belt [122]. It occurs in sagebrush (Artemisia spp.),
salt-desert shrubland, and pinyon-juniper (Pinus-Juniperus spp.) communities in the Great Basin [76].
On sagebrush steppe it commonly associates with other
annuals in early seres. Near an abandoned oil-drill site in Wyoming, for
example, it occurred in a big sagebrush (A. tridentata) community type with
exotic Russian-thistle (Salsola kali)
and cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum)
and native annuals including common pepperweed (Lepidium densiflorum),
desert goosefoot (Chenopodium pratericola), and sixweeks fescue (Vulpia
octoflora) [2].
Pinnate tansymustard (Descurainia pinnata), clasping pepperweed (Lepidium
perfoliatum), red brome (Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens), and
medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae) are other common annual
associates [38]. In a big sagebrush-fourwing saltbush (Atriplex
canescens) community in eastern Oregon, canopy cover of annuals
exceeded 100%, with 42% cheatgrass, 10% cutleaf filaree (Erodium cicutarium),
and 9% tall tumblemustard cover [50]. Associates of tall tumblemustard in
Wyoming big sagebrush-broom snakeweed/Indian ricegrass (Artemisia tridentata
ssp. wyomingensis-Gutierrezia sarothrae/Achnatherum hymenoides) of Utah
included halogeton (Halogeton glomeratus), which was successionally
replacing cheatgrass, and clasping pepperweed [84]. Blackburn and others [14]
describe a tall tumblemustard-dominated disclimax community in west-central Nevada
that occurs on highly disturbed rangelands.

More info for the term: forb

Forb

Tall tumblemustard is a honeybee and butterfly plant [75]. It helps bind fine-textured soils [88].

Native Americans made meal from ground tumble mustard seeds. The greens can be used in salads [88].

More info on this topic.

More info for the terms: cotyledon, herbaceous

Tall tumblemustard germinates in winter or early spring, before most associated herbaceous species have started growth [2]. It develops a rosette after the cotyledon stage, then bolts [2,135]. The flowering period is lengthy. A single plant typically bears numerous racemes that flower sequentially up the pedicel. The flowers mature quickly, with relatively few in bloom at once. The lower leaves usually dry out around flowering time without affecting flower production [122]. Phenological events by region are as follows:

Region Event Time Southwest and northern Mexico flowers March-April [76,83,136] Great Plains flowers May-Aug. [56] Pacific Northwest flowers May-Sept. [65] Southeast flowers March-June [99,140] Northeast flowers June-Aug.[51] Great Lakes flowers mid-May−early September fruits late June-late Sept. [91]

More info for the terms: cover, cover type, frequency, grassland, seed, wildfire

Tall tumblemustard establishes from soil-stored seed and seed blown or transported in after fire [41,45,108,137]. It is most frequent on early seral burns [26,72]. For example, in a Idaho fescue-prairie Junegrass (Festuca idahoensis-Koeleria macrantha) community of northeastern Oregon, tumble mustard and mountain tansymustard (Descurainia richardsonii) pioneered on severely burned sites, but were absent by the 5th postfire year [72]. In Colorado pinyon-Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) stands of west-central Utah, tall tumblemustard occurred on 6- and 11-year-old burns, but not older burns [10].

Tall tumblemustard cover (%) on burned and unburned plots after a June 1977 fire on Mt. Sentinel in Missoula, Montana, is shown below. The cover type is rough fescue (Festuca altaica)-Idaho fescue-bluebunch wheatgrass mountain grassland [4].

Autumn 1977 Spring 1978 Summer 1979 unburned burned unburned burned unburned burned <0.05% 0.6 0.3 2.6** 0.4 3.0* *=differences between burned and unburned significant (p **=differences between burned and unburned significant (p

Another study of plant cover the after same fire showed similar effects. Although tall tumblemustard cover (%) was low on burned and unburned plots, tall tumblemustard increased with fire. Measurements were taken in November 1977, 5 months after the Mt. Sentinel Fire [85]:

unburned burned 0.05 0.58* *=differences between burned and unburned significant (p<0.01)

One year after a July wildfire in a ponderosa pine/bluebunch wheatgrass community of British Columbia, tall tumblemustard established as follows [71]:

Frequency (%) Basal cover (%) Aerial cover (%) unburned burned unburned burned unburned burned 0.0 20.0 0.0 trace 0.0 0.2±4.80

Although fire creates the open canopy and bare mineral soil that favors tall tumblemustard establishment, tall tumblemustard is not an obligate "fire follower." Any area with bare ground, open sunlight, and a seed source is vulnerable to tall tumblemustard invasion [70].

More info for the terms: ground residual colonizer, initial off-site colonizer, secondary colonizer, seed

POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY [114]:
Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
Initial off-site colonizer (off-site, initial community)
Secondary colonizer (on-site or off-site seed sources)

More info for the terms: density, frequency, litter, natural, seed, shrubs, stratification

As an annual, tall tumblemustard reproduces solely from seed.

Breeding system: Mustards (Brassicaceae) are cross-pollinated. Selfing also occurs [61].

Pollination is by insects [61].

Seed production: Tall tumblemustard is a prolific seed producer. A single plant can produce up to 12,500 siliques and 1.5 million seeds [24,88].

Seed dispersal: Seeds disperse when the dead, dried parent plant breaks at the stem base and tumbles or slides across the ground by wind or other movement [88,122,142]. The fruits are tough and shatter slowly, so only a few seeds at a time are released. Consequently, the dried plant may disperse seeds throughout fall and winter, across many miles [78,88,122,135]. Animals disperse seeds when the wet, mucilaginous seed coat sticks to feathers or fur [149]. Machinery can pick up branches and whole plants, transporting seeds hundreds to thousands of miles. Tall tumblemustard's initial expansion westward was probably facilitated by railroad cars. One of the species' common names, Jim Hill mustard, comes from the name of the early railroad magnate [88,129].

Seed banking: Tall tumblemustard builds up a long-term seed bank [50,52,63,146,152]. Seed stored over 40 years has germinated in the laboratory (review by [133]). It is unclear how long seed remains viable in natural seed banks. In a Virginia pasture experiment, tumble mustard seed buried 8 inches (20 cm) deep in pots showed 10% germination after 2 years' burial, 21.5% after 4 years, 79% after 7 years, and 0% germination after 17 and 22 years [52].

Tall tumblemustard's soil seed bank is dynamic, reaching greatest seasonal density in fall and greatest year-to-year fluctuation in wet years. In Yellowstone National Park, mean seed bank density of tall tumblemustard (based on number of emergents in soil samples) was 53 plants/m2 [23]. A degraded big sagebrush-spiny hopsage/Thurber needlegrass (Grayia spinosa/Achnatherum thurberianum) community near Reno, Nevada, showed seasonal and spatial variation in density of  tumble mustard seed as follows [146]:

Strata

Time of sampling (seeds/m2)

Percent of total samples collected/layer Sept. Nov. Dec. Feb. May between shrubs: litter 200 1,350 100 ---- ---- 92 soil 100 25 ---- 25   8 under shrubs: litter 750 750 550 100 540 84 soil 175 100 100 25 80 16

Germination: Tall tumblemustard seeds become mucilaginous upon wetting, which helps them retain moisture. Seeds can germinate on the seedbed surface without litter or soil covering [78,146]. In the absence of cheatgrass, tall tumblemustard may show better germination and establishment with litter; however, when cheatgrass is present in the seed bank, cheatgrass tends to outcompete tall tumblemustard [146]. Tall tumblemustard seeds are immediately germinable at temperatures from 32 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit (0-20 oC), with no stratification requirement. Best germination occurs on fine-textured soils with temperatures around 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 oC) [149]. Near Reno, seeds showed best germination in May [146]. Germination rates are generally good, but irregular. In southern Idaho, tall tumblemustard seed stored for a year in an unheated shed showed 93% germination [67]. Seed lots collected in northern Nevada and northeastern California showed irregular germination; they did not all germinate at 1 time under "ideal" laboratory temperature and moisture conditions. Seed lots were collected over 4 consecutive years. Germination continued for 12 weeks, with some seeds germinating in their 2nd year [149]. Frequency of tall tumblemustard in a black sagebrush (Artemisia nova) community of west-central Nevada was highest in a year of above-average annual precipitation. Mean frequency (% and 1 standard error (SE)) varied as follows [150]:

Average ppt (n=4 years, µ=175 mm annual ppt) Dry year (1989, no April ppt; annual ppt not available) Wet year (1986, 225 mm annual ppt) 5 (0.9) 0 10 (0.8)

Tall tumblemustard seeds show some ability to withstand short-term high temperatures. Seeds collected from Yellowstone National Park showed equal emergence (53/m2 ) from soil samples at room temperature and samples heated to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (50 oC). Emergence dropped to 13/m2  at 210 degrees Fahrenheit (100 oC) and 0 at 300 degrees Fahrenheit  (150 oC) [23].

Seedling establishment/growth: Tall tumblemustard shows best establishment on mineral soil under an open canopy. In the Reno study discussed above, Young and Evans [146] found better tumble mustard establishment between shrubs compared to under shrubs. They attributed this to better litter and soil moisture conditions for cheatgrass under shrubs, where cheatgrass outcompeted tall tumblemustard.

Tall tumblemustard seedlings grow rapidly. In uncrowded stands, they form large rosettes before bolting [2].  Emergence and establishment are enhanced by uneven microtopography, with tall tumblemustard establishing best in pits and furrows [55,144,148].

As annuals, tall tumblemustard populations fluctuate in size depending upon climate and other factors [94,102]. In a big sagebrush/bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata) community of eastern Washington, tall tumblemustard was absent from study plots in 1977, a drought year. Its mean biomass was 0.77 g/m2 in 1978, when precipitation was average [35]. In years of above-average precipitation, tall tumblemustard and other annuals can produce considerable biomass. With disturbance, the annuals may invade areas where they were sparse or absent before the frequent rains [37].

More info on this topic.

This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS [11]:




1 Northern Pacific Border

2 Cascade Mountains

3 Southern Pacific Border

4 Sierra Mountains

5 Columbia Plateau

6 Upper Basin and Range

7 Lower Basin and Range

8 Northern Rocky Mountains

9 Middle Rocky Mountains

10 Wyoming Basin

11 Southern Rocky Mountains

12 Colorado Plateau

13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont

14 Great Plains

15 Black Hills Uplift

16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands

(key to state/province abbreviations)
UNITED STATES AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY DC PR VI
CANADA AB BC MB NB NF NT NS NU ON PE PQ SK YK
MEXICO B.C.N.

More info on this topic.

More info for the terms: cover, cover type, succession

Tall tumblemustard requires an open to light canopy [69,124,146], and is most common in early stages of succession [2,22,25,31,96]. 

Tall tumblemustard occurrence in early sagebrush steppe succession is well documented. In big sagebrush of Wyoming, for example, tall tumblemustard occurred 2 and 3 years after disking near an abandoned oil drilling site [2]. A classic seral continuum is described by Piemeisel [96] and other authorities [40,113,121] where Russian-thistle pioneers on sagebrush steppe disturbed by fire or other means. Tall tumblemustard establishes next, followed by tansymustard (Descurainia spp.) and cheatgrass. Medusahead, Scotch thistle (Onopordum acanthium), and other species may extend or alter the classic continuum [40,41]. A 20-year study in southern Idaho showed old-field succession on former big sagebrush steppe was initially dominated by Russian-thistle, tall tumblemustard, and tansymustard. An increase in cheatgrass and bottlebrush squirreltail (Elymus elymoides) followed; after that, there was a temporary increase in mustards and a decrease in Russian-thistle. The community eventually stabilized as a cheatgrass-bottlebrush squirreltail cover type [64]. A similar pattern occurred in sagebrush steppe of Washington, where tall tumblemustard codominated recently disturbed sites along with Russian-thistle, prickly-lettuce (Lactuca serriola), and bur ragweed (Ambrosia acanthicarpa). Cheatgrass dominated slightly older seres such as old fields [15]. Some annual-dominated  communities may be stable  [64]. On the Atomic Energy Commission's Hanford Reservation, Washington, old fields have supported cheatgrass-tall tumblemustard-tansymustard communities for 30 or more years [27]. Tall tumblemustard is not highly invasive in undisturbed sagebrush communities. In lightly grazed and ungrazed sites in a big sagebrush/bluebunch wheatgrass community of eastern Washington, tall tumblemustard established in severely trampled areas where cattle congregated (watering troughs and fencelines), but did not invade other portions of the otherwise lightly grazed site or the ungrazed site [101].

Other communities: Tall tumblemustard's successional role is less well documented in plant communities other than sagebrush. Similar to its pattern of occurrence in early seral sagebrush, a few studies show early tumble mustard invasion in disturbed communities followed by tall tumblemustard's successional replacement by perennials. In western wheatgrass-buffalo grass-blue grama (Pascopyrum smithii-Buchloe dactyloides-Bouteloua gracilis) communities of Nebraska, tall tumblemustard occurs in wetland succession at the edges of ponds. On upland sites it occurs on deep, poorly bound, wind-deposited soils along with common sunflower (Helianthus annuus), prairie sunflower (H. petiolaris), and lambsquarters (Chenopodium album) [74]. In a shadscale community of south-central Idaho, tall tumblemustard, halogeton, clasping pepperweed, and cheatgrass invaded after a combination of drought and root-mining mealybugs killed most of the overstory shadscale. Six years after the shadscale dieback, the site was dominated by halogeton and annual weeds. Grasshopper populations were high the 7th year following the dieback, so halogeton, tall tumblemustard, and other annuals maintained dominance with grasshopper grazing. Shadscale, gooseberryleaf globemallow (Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia), and native perennial grasses gained dominance the next year, when the drought ended and the insect populations declined [110].

Tall tumblemustard is nonmycorrhizal [12,46]; therefore, it can colonize sterile sites or sites undergoing primary succession.

The scientific name of tall tumblemustard is Sisymbrium altissimum L. (Brassicaceae)
[32,51,56,66,68,75,83,99,119,126,130].

Sisymbrium altissimum is a species of Sisymbrium. The plant is native to the western part of the Mediterranean Basin and is widely naturalized throughout most of the world, including all of North America. After maturity it forms a tumbleweed. Common names of the plant include Jim Hill mustard, tall tumblemustard, tall mustard, tumble mustard, tumbleweed mustard, tall sisymbrium, and tall hedge mustard.