Common names:
Common fiddleneck, rancher's fireweed, intermediate fiddleneck
Family:
Scientific name:
Amsinckia intermedia
Synonym:
amsinckia menziesii var intermedia
Main flower color:
Range:
All states west of the Rocky Mountains, including Montana, Wyoming and extreme southwest New Mexico
Height:
Up to 4 feet
Habitat:
Open locations; grassland, disturbed ground
Leaves:
Narrowly lanceolate or linear, up to 6 inches long
Season:
March to June
The small flowers of amsinckia intermedia are yellow to orange in color, borne at closely spaced intervals along one side of a straightening stem - in the shape of a fiddleneck - and in a denser cluster at the top. The flower corolla is tubular, opening to five lobes, and less than a quarter of an inch in diameter. Underneath is a bristle-covered calyx, also with five lobes, which are green, separated by white bands, and fused to about half their length. The stems and the narrow green leaves also have a covering of long, bristly, white hairs. Leaves are large around the base of the stem, up to 6 inches in length, but much reduced higher up.
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