Amsinckia vernicosa

Waxy fiddleneck, Waxy Fiddleneck

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: annual · Native

Waxy fiddleneck is a California native annual found in southern Sierra Nevada Foothills, western San Joaquin Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, southern Coast Ranges, western Transverse Ranges, and Mojave Desert in uncommon shaly slope habitats at elevations of 50 to 1,400 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces bright yellow to orange-yellow flowers with delicate bell-shaped corollas 8 to 12 millimeters long. Growing with smooth, slightly glaucous stems that are whitish to pinkish at the base, it reaches moderate heights with distinctive slender branches. Its leaves are pale glaucous, creating a soft blue-green appearance across the plant's surface. The fruit is a smooth, shiny, lanceolate seed 4 to 6 millimeters long with a distinctive longitudinal groove.

Habitat: Uncommon. Generally shaly slopes

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 50-1400 m

Bioregions: s SNF, w SnJV, SnFrB, SCoR, w WTR, DMoj.

California counties: San Bernardino, Monterey, Kern, San Luis Obispo, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Fresno, San Benito, Los Angeles, Alameda, Inyo, Kings, Sonoma, Ventura

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