Amsinckia

Amsinckia (commonly called fiddleneck) is a group of plants in the borage family known for their rough, bristly stems and leaves and their distinctive curled flower stalks that resemble a fiddlehead. The plants produce clusters of small yellow-to-orange tubular flowers with five lobes, and their fruits form four small seed-containing nutlets enclosed in a hairy husk. In agricultural landscapes of western North America, species such as common or coast fiddleneck are often regarded as troublesome weeds.

Most weedy Amsinckia species behave as winter annuals: seeds germinate during cool, moist periods, plants grow through winter and early spring, then flower, set seed, and die. They reproduce entirely by seed, and long-term persistence depends on continued seed production. Spread occurs mainly through contaminated grain, hay, or soil movement, and historical introductions in places like the United Kingdom were linked to seed impurities. Insects may visit the flowers, but from a management perspective, preventing seed formation is key to limiting infestations.

As agricultural weeds, fiddlenecks can affect small-grain crops such as wheat, barley, and oats, as well as alfalfa, hay fields, orchards, vineyards, and pastures; some species contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids that pose a livestock-poisoning risk if seeds contaminate feed. The genus is most common in western and southwestern North America, especially California and surrounding regions, with additional occurrences in British Columbia and Saskatchewan in Canada. In Europe, certain species like Amsinckia micrantha are naturalized mainly in eastern England and eastern Scotland, typically in light, sandy arable soils.