Kochia

Bassia scoparia

Family: Chenopodiaceae

Other Scientific Names:

Kochia scoparia

Other Common Names: burning bush, Mexican firebrush, mock cypress
Weed class: B
Year Listed: 1988
Native to: Europe and Asia
Is this Weed Toxic?:

livestock

Legal listings:

WAC 16-752; WSDA Quarantine list (prohibited plant list)

Why Is It a Noxious Weed?

In areas where kochia is widespread, it is considered a serious pest of late-maturing crops. Kochia is an effective competitor for light, nutrients, and soil moisture, and can reduce crop yield.

How would I identify it?

General Description

Kochia is an annual herbaceous plant that has a deep taproot and grows 1.6 to 4.9 feet tall. Kochia stems are upright and spreading with many branches.

Flower Description

Flowers are small and green, grouped in clusters in the upper leaf axils and on terminal spikes.

Leaf description

Kochia leaves are alternately arranged and are 1 to 2 inches long. They are narrow to lance shaped with smooth, hairy edges and may have silky hairs on leaf undersides.

Stem description

Stems are upright, branched and have hairs on the upper parts of stems, sometimes tinged red.

Fruit Seed Description

Each flower forms a small inflated seed bearing structure that is covered by the sepals. Seeds are wedge-shaped and light brown.

Where does it grow?

Kochia is found on pasture, rangeland, roadsides, ditch banks, wastelands and cultivated fields. Please click here to see a county level distribution map of kochia in Washington.

How Does it Reproduce?

Kochia reproduces from seeds, it typically produces around 14,600 seeds per plant. Seeds are dispersed in the fall when the plant becomes a tumbleweed.