This is a phrase used to describe various varieties of bushes that break off when very dry, and roll with the wind.
These thick matted bushes sometimes stick to each other to resemble a giant Tumbleweed, and single Tumbleweeds six or eight feet in diameter, are not uncommon in the Southwest at times. They have been seen in many Western movies, but far from being “quaint” they can be both a nuisance and a fire hazard. Sage brush creates one of the more common kinds of tumbleweed.