Tarweed Fiddleneck Amsinckia
Other Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Benthamia
- Phonetic Spelling
- am-SINK-kee-uh
- This plant has low severity poison characteristics.
- See below
- Description
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This is a genus of about 15 annual flowering plants in the borage family (Boraginaceae) native to western North America and the southwestern South America. They can be found growing in degraded pastures, roadsides and in dry sandy areas. The genus is named in honour of the Hamburg head of state and patron of botany, Wilhelm Amsinck. The common name of fiddlehead comes from the shape of the flower stems, curving at the top like a fiddle.
Fiddlenecks vary in size from 8 inches to 2 feet tall and prefer full sun in moist clay, loam or sandy soils and will tolerate some drought.
Many have spikes of yellow flowers with orange highlights and have bristly hairs on stems and leaves, causing skin irritation. They can also be poisonous to grazing animals. The individual species can be difficult to tell apart as their habitats overlap and they tend to hybridize with each other.
These plants are generally not used in the home garden but could be used in a naturalized area. They have been used in land restoration to help crowd out invasives.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems..
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Amsinckia
- Species:
- Amsinckia
- Family:
- Boraginaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Stems, seeds and leaves were used as food source by Native Americans.
- Life Cycle:
- Annual
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Western North America, South America
- Wildlife Value:
- Bees and butterflies are atacted to the flowers
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Annual
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- High
- Texture:
- Coarse
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Gray/Silver
- Fruit Type:
- Nut
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Consists of a bristly husk or burr surrounding an egg-shaped group of 4 nutlets containing a single seed.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Orange
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Cyme
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Long Bloom Season
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Shape:
- Trumpet
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Individual flowers have five fused petals of dark golden yellow to orange, trumpet-shaped flowers in spike-like cymes that are curled at the tips. They are 2 to 15 inches long with leafy bracts at the base. Flowers bloom all spring into the summer.
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Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Gray/Silver
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Prickly
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Rosulate
- Leaf Shape:
- Oblanceolate
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 3-6 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Mature plants have a basal rosette of leaves on short stems while the stem leaves are clasping with no stems. Most are covered with short hairs or bristles. Leaves can be up to 8 inches long
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Green
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Surface:
- Hairy (pubescent)
- Stem Description:
- Erect green stem may be branched or not. Often cover with short hairs or bristles.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Naturalized Area
- Attracts:
- Butterflies
- Moths
- Problems:
- Contact Dermatitis
- Problem for Horses
- Weedy
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Poisonous to Humans:
- Poison Severity:
- Low
- Poison Symptoms:
- Contact with the plant's sharp hairs can cause dermatitis. The seeds and leaves of fiddlenecks are poisonous to livestock and horses and possibly unsafe for human use.
- Poison Toxic Principle:
- pyrrolizidine alkaloids and nitrates
- Causes Contact Dermatitis:
- Yes
- Poison Part:
- Leaves
- Seeds
- Stems
