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Orange Fiddle-neck

Amsinckia menziesii intermedia

 

Photo © by Michael Plagens

Photographed at Saddle Mountain near Tonopah, Arizona, March 2003.

SPRING ANNUAL: Tall (1 - 2 meters) course annuals in wet years but can grow as a small diminutive plant just a few cm tall in drought years. Blooming from Feb. to May

LEAVES Leaves and stems have long prickly hairs.

RANGE: Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Mohave Deserts of Arizona, Sonora, California. Common to abundant often moreso on disturbed sites.

FLOWERS: Orange to yellow flowers appear on a spiked stalk that is partially coiled like a fiddleneck.

BIOTA: Caterpillars of the Painted Lady Butterfly can often be found within tent-like shelters made from several leaves loosly sewn together with silk.

Boraginaceae -- Borage Family

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Copyright Michael J. Plagens, 1999-2008