Plant Species: Amsinckia menziesii, Menzies' fiddleneck
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta -- flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida -- dicotyledons
Order: Lamiales
Family: Boraginaceae -- borage
Genus: Amsinckia
Species: menziesii
Variety:
var. intermedia has an orange corolla 7-11 mm long and 4-10 mm across with 5 reddish marks, 2n=30,34,38 (Baldwin et al 2004). (formerly Amsinckia intermedia Fisch. & C.A. Mey.).
var. menziesii has a pale yellow corolla 4-7 mm long and 2-3 mm across, lacking reddish marks, 2n=16,26,34 (Baldwin et al 2004). (includes Amsinckia micrantha Suksd., and Amsinckia retrorsa Suksd.).
Species Code: AMME
Common Name: Menzies’ fiddleneck, tarweed
Origin: Native to dry to mesic, often disturbed areas in North America.
Rare: no
Form: forb, annual from a taproot, 15-70 cm tall, simple to much branched; stems weak, hispid.
Duration: annual
Longevity: annual
Habitat Type: prairie
Wetland Indicator Status: not listed
Leaves: entire, linear to ovate, to 12 cm long.
Mature height: 6-28 inches
Flowers: borne in a coiled (scorpioid) cluster; gamopetalous, perfect; sepals free; corolla yellow, 4-7 mm long, throat open; stamens inserted above middle of tube.
Flower color: yellow
Bloom: April, May, June
Bloom starts on:
Bloom ends on:
Fruit: nutlet, ovoid, 2-3.5 mm long.
Vegetation type:
Characteristics:
A. micrantha in St. John 1963, and in Davis 1953.
Reproduces sexually by seed.
Taprooted.
Flowers are perfect.
Fruit is a nutlet.
Self pollinated (Baldwin et al 2004).
The nutlets of at least some species are poisonous when eaten.
The plants are covered with short, stiff hairs which irritate the skin.
Comments: Plants are weedy annuals and require disturbance to persist.
Sun requirement: full
Soil moisture: xeric to mesic
Precipitation:
Fire:
Hazards: Weedy. Stiff hairs irritate the skin. Nutlets may be poisonous.
Sowing time:
Transplant time:
Stratification:
Seed yield:
Seed harvest:
Seed first harvest:
Seed cleaning:
Planting duration: annual
Seed insect problem:
Seed shatter:
Seed size: medium
Seed harvest date:
Seed comments:
Key words: weedy native upland annual forb
Alternate Genus:
Alternate Species: micrantha, intermedia, retrorosa
Alternate Variety:
Propagation:
Notes: Amsinckia spp. are native, but just being native does not preclude them from being nasty weeds. If you have them in your garden, pull them up, but wear gloves. The plants are covered with short, stiff hairs which penetrate the skin and are quite irritating. Common names usually include some form of fiddleneck or tarweed (Skinner et al 2005).
References:
Baldwin, B.G., S. Boyd, B.J. Ertter, D.J. Keil, R.W. Patterson, T.J. Rosatti, and D.H. Wilken (eds). 2004. Jepson Online Interchange for California Floristics. University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California, Berkeley, CA. Accessed 9/23/09 online at http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/interchange.html
Davis, Ray J. 1952. Flora of Idaho. Wm. C. Brown, Dubuque, Iowa. 827 pp.
St. John, Harold. 1963. Flora of Southeastern Washington and of Adjacent Idaho. 3rd edition. Outdoor Pictures. Escondido, CA.
Skinner, David M., Paul Warnick, Bill French, and Mary Fauci. 2005. More Palouse Forbs for Landscaping. USDA NRCS Pullman Plant Materials Center and Palouse Prairie Foundation.
Online at http://www.wsu.edu/pmc_nrcs/Docs/More_Forbs_for_Landscaping.pdf