fiddlenecks

genus Amsinckia

Member of borage family (family Boraginaceae)
borages (order Boraginales)
dicots (class Magnoliopsida)
flowering plants (subphylum Angiospermae)

Except for extremely rare examples that I don't expect to encounter, there are no other wild species of this genus in the bay area.

Key features:

corolla diameter
corolla with 0 or 5 radial dark spots or 2 bilateral dark spots
corolla throat partially closed by 5 hairy appendages/wrinkles or not
5 equal calyx lobes, or < 5 lobes unequal in width
leaf succulent and fine-toothed or not

common fiddleneck
Amsinckia menziesii

common fiddleneck
Amsinckia menziesii

corolla radial, tube straight, limb 1–3 mm diameter, with 0 or 5 dark spots
stamens generally attached above middle of corolla tube, if below then style exserted
very common

tarweed fiddleneck
Amsinckia lycopsoides

tarweed fiddleneck
Amsinckia lycopsoides

corolla radial, tube straight, limb 4–10 mm diameter, with 0 or 5 dark spots
corolla throat ± closed by 5 hairy appendages [really just wrinkles in the corolla limb?], tube constricted in lower ½
stamens attached below middle of corolla tube
style included
Mt. Diablo

large-flowered fiddleneck
Amsinckia grandiflora

corolla 14–20 mm, limb 10–15 mm diameter, red-orange
very rare: Mt. Diablo

bent-flowered fiddleneck
Amsinckia lunaris

bent-flowered fiddleneck
Amsinckia lunaris

corolla bilateral, tube bent so that the limb is not perpendicular to the lower prt of the tube
corolla limb 4–7 mm diameter, generally with 2 dark spots
scattered, but with very few modern observations

bristly fiddleneck
Amsinckia tessellata

bristly fiddleneck
Amsinckia tessellata

calyx lobes unequal in width, 2–4 from fusion below middle, notched at tip
corolla limb 2–10 mm diameter
Mt. Diablo, Sunol, Pinnacles

woolly breeches
Amsinckia spectabilis

woolly breeches
Amsinckia spectabilis

leaf ± succulent, fine-toothed
5 calyx lobes ± equal in width not fused above base, or 2–3 unequal in width, ± ½ fused
corolla limb 5–14 mm diameter
scattered near the pacific coast

2 observed taxons / 5 unobserved taxons / 2 keys

Chris’s observations: 53 (22 are research grade)

Locations:

Henry Coe SP: 10
Santa Teresa CP: 5
Almaden Quicksilver CP: 4
Calero CP: 4
Coyote Lake / Harvey Bear Ranch CP: 4
Fremont Older OSP: 4
Coyote Valley OSP: 3
Joseph D. Grant CP: 3
Máyyan 'Ooyákma Coyote Ridge OSP: 2
Pacheco SP: 2
Pleasanton Ridge RP: 2
Russian Ridge OSP: 2
Sunol Wilderness RP: 2
Fort Ord NM
Hidden Villa, Los Altos Hills
Lexington Reservoir CP
Los Trancos OSP
Pinnacles NP
Sierra Azul OSP

Months:

Feb.: 3
Mar.: 20
Apr.: 25
May: 4
Jun.: 1

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Not all sites include this taxon:

genus Amsinckia → iNaturalist – Calflora – Jepson eFlora
not yet listed → FNA

Bay Area species: iNaturalist – Calflora