Amsinckia furcata

Forked fiddleneck, forked fiddleneck, forked fiddleneck

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.2

Forked fiddleneck is a California native annual found in western San Joaquin Valley and southern coastal ranges, particularly in Kings County, on semi-barren, loose, shaly slopes at elevations of 50 to 1,000 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces orange flowers with distinctive dark spots, approximately 12 to 22 millimeters long, creating a striking visual display. Growing with glaucous stems that are glabrous to sparsely hairy and often tinged white to pink at the base, the plant reaches heights typical of annual wildflowers. Its leaves are glaucous with a bluish-green cast, contributing to the plant's subtle coloration. The fruit is a small, smooth, shiny gray ovate structure with a unique longitudinal slit-like groove that forks at its base.

Habitat: Semi-barren, loose, shaly slopes

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 50-1000 m

Bioregions: w SnJV, SCoRI (Kings Co. n).

California counties: San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Fresno, Kings

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.