''Amsinckia tessellata'' is a species of
fiddleneck known by the common names bristly fiddleneck,
tessellate fiddleneck,
checker fiddleneck, and devil's lettuce.
The plant is native to dry regions of western North America, more specifically eastern Washington and Idaho, much of
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and the
Great Basin
The Great Basin () is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets to the ocean, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja Californi ...
, to southwest
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
(U.S.) and northwest
Sonora
Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...
and
Baja California
Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...
in Mexico, usually below elevation.
It is a common plant in many types of habitats, including
chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...
,
oak woodland, xeric scrub, temperate valleys, disturbed areas, and deserts including the
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...
and
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert () is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States (in Arizona and California). It ...
.
__TOC__
Description

''Amsinckia tessellata'' is an 8–24 inches tall bristly annual herb similar in appearance to other fiddlenecks.
Its coiled
inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
holds yellow to orange tubular flowers up to a centimeter wide at the corolla, which often has fewer than five lobes. Calyx lobes are not uniform in width and may be fused below the middle. The bloom period is March to June.
References
External links
''Amsinckia tessellata'' - Photo galleryJepson Manual Treatment
tessellata
Flora of British Columbia
Flora of the Northwestern United States
Flora of Arizona
Flora of Baja California
Flora of California
Flora of Nevada
Flora of New Mexico
Flora of Sonora
Flora of Utah
Flora of the California desert regions
Flora of the Great Basin
Flora of the Sonoran Deserts
Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands
Natural history of the California Coast Ranges
Natural history of the Mojave Desert
Natural history of the Transverse Ranges
Plants described in 1874
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
{{Boraginoideae-stub