E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Amsinckia spectabilis Fisch. & C.A. Mey.
seaside fiddleneck (woolly breeches)
Boraginaceae (Borage family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Dave Ingram  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #29893)

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Distribution of Amsinckia spectabilis
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Species Information

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General:
Annual herb from a taproot; stems erect or often reclining to prostrate, spreading stiff-hairy, simple or branched, to 40 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves not persistent; stem leaves irregularly fine-toothed, lanceolate to lance-linear or lance-elliptic, to 5 cm long and about 1 cm wide, alternate.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a coiled cluster; petals orange, fused into a tube 4-8 mm long that spreads (3-5 mm wide) at the top to 5 short lobes; calyx lobes 5, but 2 of them half-fused, with long stiff hairs and a few shorter, softer hairs.
Fruits:
Nutlets 4, clustered together, 1.5-2.5 mm long, egg-shaped, weakly wrinkled or pimply, blackish.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Moist sandy coastal beaches in the lowland zone; infrequent on the Queen Charlotte Islands, Vancouver Island the Gulf Islands and the lower Fraser Valley; S to N Baja CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Amsinckia scouleri I.M. Johnst.
Amsinckia spectabilis var. bracteosa (Gray) Boivin
Amsinckia spectabilis var. microcarpa (Greene) Jepson & Hoover
Amsinckia spectabilis var. nicolai (Jepson) I.M. Johnston ex Munz
Amsinckia spectabilis var. spectabilis Fisch. & C. A. Mey. [superfluous autonym]

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References