Amsinckia douglasiana
Encyclopedia
Amsinckia douglasiana is an uncommon species of fiddleneck
known by the common name Douglas' fiddleneck. It is endemic to the coastal Santa Monica Mountains
and Santa Ynez Mountains
of southern California
.
s of yellow-orange flowers similar to other fiddlenecks. The flowers are over a centimeter wide and often have fewer than five lobes. This species is heterostylous
.
It is also known as an occasional introduced species
on the East Coast of the U.S.
Fiddleneck
A fiddleneck is a flowering plant in the genus Amsinckia. The name derives from the flower stems, bearing many small flowers, which curl over at the top in a manner reminiscent of the head of a fiddle...
known by the common name Douglas' fiddleneck. It is endemic to the coastal Santa Monica Mountains
Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains are a Transverse Range in Southern California, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the United States.-Geography:...
and Santa Ynez Mountains
Santa Ynez Mountains
The Santa Ynez Mountains are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of the west coast of North America, and are one of the northernmost mountain ranges in Southern California.-Geography:...
of southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Description
Amsinckia douglasiana is a bristly annual herb producing coiled, fiddlehead-shaped inflorescenceInflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s of yellow-orange flowers similar to other fiddlenecks. The flowers are over a centimeter wide and often have fewer than five lobes. This species is heterostylous
Heterostyly
Heterostyly is a unique form of polymorphism and herkogamy in flowers. In a heterostylous species, two or three different morphological types of flowers, termed morphs, exist in the population. On each individual plant, all flowers share the same morph. The flower morphs differ in the lengths of...
.
It is also known as an occasional introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
on the East Coast of the U.S.