Plant Species: Amsinckia retrorsa, tarweed, fiddleneck
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta -- flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida -- dicots
Family: Boraginaceae -- borage
Genus: Amsinckia
Species: retrorsa
Variety:
Common Name: tarweed, fiddleneck
Species Code: AMRE2, AMMEM2
Origin: Native to dry to mesic, often disturbed areas in western North America.
Rare: no
Form: forb, 20-60 cm., annual; taprooted; stems hispid, some of the shorter stem hairs retrorse.
Duration: annual
Longevity: annual
Habitat Type: prairie
Wetland Indicator Status: not listed
Leaves: alternate
Mature height: 8-24 inches
Flowers: borne in a coiled (scorpioid) cluster; perfect; corolla 5-8 mm long, yellow, throat open; stamens inserted above middle of tube.
Flowers color: yellow
Bloom: April, May, June
Bloom starts on: April
Bloom ends on: June
Fruit: Fruit is a nutlet.
Vegetation type:
Characteristics:
Currently considered synonymous with A. menziesii var. menziesii.
Reproduces sexually by seed.
Plants are weedy annuals and require disturbance to persist.
Taprooted.
n=8, 13, 17 (Hitchcock et al 1969, 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.
Self pollinated (Baldwin et al 2004).
Comments:
Sun requirement: full
Soil moisture: xeric to mesic
Precipitation:
Fire:
Hazards: weedy, stiff hairs irritate the skin.
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Seed comments:
Key words: weedy
Alternate Genus:
Alternate Species: menziesii
Alternate Variety: var. menziesii
Propagation:
Notes:
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 7/15/09 online at http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/interchange.html
Hitchcock, C. Leo, Arthur Cronquist, Marion Ownbey, and J.W. Thompson. 1969. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press. Seattle, WA. 5 vol.