Checker Fiddleneck

Checker fiddleneck,

also known as devil's lettuce and bristly fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata) is very bristly and has a coiled inflorescence

that holds very small orange to yellow tubular flowers with five lobes

and five red to orange marks in the throat of the flower.

The common name comes from the flower stems bearing many small flowers which curl over at the top in a manner similar to the head of a filddle. 

The seeds and foliage are poisionous to livestock because they contain alkaloids and high concentrations of nitrates. The sharp hairs can cause skin irritation to humans.