bio.wikisort.org - Plant

Amsinckia grandiflora is a species of fiddleneck known by the common name large-flowered fiddleneck. This is a wildflower endemic to California and considered a Critically endangered species on the state and national level.

Amsinckia grandiflora
Conservation status
Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Boraginales
Family:	Boraginaceae
Genus:	Amsinckia
Species:	A. grandiflora
Binomial name
Amsinckia grandiflora (Kleeb. ex A.Gray) Kleeb. ex Greene

Distribution

The last remaining native populations are on the grasslands near Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Alameda County, California. Other populations have been established in nearby protected areas. The plant is endangered due to a number of factors, including invasive plants, grazing, and development of the valuable land. In the California grasslands, fire is commonly used to control the exotic species, however it negatively affects the native species that live there like Amsinckia grandiflora. Due to the use of fire, the population of the organism is decreasing.[1][2]

This fiddleneck has low reproductive output; it produces few seeds per plant. It is also heterostylous, making the plant self-incompatible, which means individuals cannot breed with other individuals of the same morph. This often prevents reproduction.

This fiddleneck is also sensitive to habitat; it grows on sedimentary loam in mesic areas of its range. The Livermore Laboratory is actively monitoring the status of this California endemic.

References

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment
• California Plant Conservation

---