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Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Annual Forbs Around Las Vegas, Vegetation Around Las Vegas
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)

General: Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata) is an upright annual forb with lanceolate leaves. The leaves and stems are covered by thousands of stiff, tiny hairs that dry to become spines. The flowers are yellow, tubular with five lobes, and there are red spots inside the tube.

Calyx lobes (sepals) are unequal in width, with 2–4 calyx lobes formed from the fusion of sepals below the middle. Calyx lobes notched at the tip. The stems are hairy. The leaves are entire, and the stem is upright. The corolla tubes are long (8–16 mm long). Other species of Fiddleneck do not match this set of characteristics.

In our desert area, another species, Common Fiddleneck (Amsinckia menziesii), has unfused corolla parts and the flower tube is short (4-7 mm).

Bristly Fiddleneck is a common component of desert vegetation communities on almost all soils. Around Las Vegas, look for this species everywhere, especially in Mojave Desert Scrub where it often grows under Creosote Bushes and other tall shrubs.

Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)

Family: Borage (Boraginaceae).

Other Names: Devil's Lettuce, Fiddleneck.

Plant Form: Upright, herbaceous annual with stems arising from base.

Height: Usually about 2-ft high, to about 4 feet.

Stems: Several, upright, spiny.

Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)

Leaves: lanceolate, to about 8 inches. Covered with tiny bumps, each with a bristle.

Flowers: Blooms in the spring. Flowers tubular, yellow, with red spot inside.

Seeds:

Habitat: Dry, rocky, gravel soils.

Elevation: To about 7,000 feet.

Distribution: Western US to Central America.

Comments: The dried spines are nasty. When the plant dries, the tiny hairs dry to become spines -- some of the most irritating things in the desert because they get in your skin, eyes, and clothes before you know it, and then they are difficult to remove. When walking through a field of dried Bristly Fiddleneck, the dried hairs break off and swirl in the breeze around you, flowing up your pants and into your eyes. It is best to avoid them when possible.

Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata) Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata) Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata) Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Leaves covered with tiny bumps, each bump with a bristle
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Leaves covered with tiny bumps, each bump with a bristle
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Early spring: most green is Bristly Fiddleneck
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Early spring: most green is Bristly Fiddleneck
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Early spring: most green is Bristly Fiddleneck
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Early spring: most green is Bristly Fiddleneck
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Middle spring: most green is still Bristly Fiddleneck
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Middle spring: most green is still Bristly Fiddleneck and Stork's Bill
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Middle spring: most green is still Bristly Fiddleneck and Stork's Bill
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Middle spring: most green is still Bristly Fiddleneck
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata) Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata) Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata) Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata) Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata) Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Bristly Fiddleneck: dry during summer
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Bristly Fiddleneck: dry during summer
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Bristly Fiddleneck with dry spines
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Bristly Fiddleneck with dry spines
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Bristly Fiddleneck stem and leaf with dry spines
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata)
Bristly Fiddleneck flowerhead with dry spines

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate. Names generally follow the USDA database.
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