Fiddleneck

Our featured plant in the What’s Happening in Our Watershed project for February is Fiddleneck. Orange- to yellow-flowered Common Fiddleneck ( Amsinckia intermedia) is an early flowering harbinger of Spring. Keep a lookout for the first ones you see flowering in fields and foothills. Fiddlenecks get their name from the cute curl of their flowering stalk that resembles the scroll at the top of a fiddle or violin. Fiddlenecks are a good example of California’s tremendous biodiversity. The dozen California fiddleneck species differ in their particulars of flower, seed, hairiness, and habitat - each species adapted to its particular place.

The line drawing below was created by Mady Neufeld. You’re welcome to print out and color the image below. You can also download the file here. For additional information, including photographs and range maps, visit Calscape.