Fiddleneck

Amsinckia menziesii var. intermedia

Color: Golden yellow to orange

Common name: Fiddleneck, common fiddleneck

Latin name: Amsinckia menziesii var. intermedia

Family: BORAGINACEAE

Height: 20-60 cm.
Description: Inflorescence spike-like with coiled tip. Stiff hairs on stems and leaves. Flowers 5 petals sometimes with red/orange marks.

Leaf: Generally linear to narrowly lanceolate or oblong.

Range: California

Habitat: Open, generally disturbed places.

Elevation: < 1700 m.

Flowering time: Mar–Jun

Notes: Photographed March 30, 2019, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. An abundant, common annual whose seeds and herbage are TOXIC to livestock (especially cattle) from alkaloids and high nitrate concentrations. Sharp plant hairs irritate human skin. Distribution outside California: to British Columbia, Idaho, Arizona, Baja California.

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