Funfact, the tumbleweeds you see in old western movies only exist in the movies. They did not exist during/at the actual “wild west” period in time. In fact, the tumbleweed did not grow in America for nearly all of history. It was actually imported from Russia by early European settlers.

Tumbleweed (Russian Thistle) seeds got mixed into bags of cheap imported grain seed. When they grew out in the vast plains of America they quickly took over. BUT even then they didn’t grow past the Rocky Mountains. Because the winds could not carry them through the terrain.

It wasn’t until the mid 1800s with the expansion of steam trains connecting the west that they made it over the mountains. Trains would hit and gather tumbleweeds as they crossed the plains, then carry them as they moved west.

Their proliferation into the west happens far far after what is commonly referered to as the “wild west”. Everytime you see a tumblweed in an old western movie, it’s actual mis-history. It’s just an iconic fabrication by later works of fictions romanticizing history.