Boraginaceae

Amsinckia calycina

Common Names: Yellow burrweed.

Plant Form: Erect annual rosette herb. Size: Up to 70 cm tall. Stem: Green, branched or sometimes unbranched, covered with fine hairs or bristles. Leaves: Juvenile leaves distinctively Y-shaped, other leaves spear to lance shaped up to 20 cm long, hairy, alternate on stem. Flowers: Bright yellow to slightly orange, on one side of the stem, trumpet shaped, on flowering stem that coils like a fern frond. Fruit and Seeds: Bristly husk or burr surrounding an egg-shaped group of nutlets, each with a single seed. Habitat: Degraded pastures, roadsides, bare ground, waste areas. Distinguishing Features: Distinct as a genus but very hard to distinguish at species level. Impacts: Competes with crops, unpalatable and toxic to stock, contaminates grain and wool, outcompetes native grassland species.