, Family Borage (Boraginaceae) Height 8-48" Color Yellow/orange often with 5 red/orange dark spots in the center Flowers Trumpet-shaped, tubular spreading into 5 equal lobes. < 1/2". Buds along coiled stem which unwinds at the flowers bloom. Blooms March - May Leaves Rough and hairy stem and leaves. Leaves are linear to lanceolate. Habitat Open grassy areas. Especially disturbed places along roads.     Named for the coiled shape of the flower buds. They resemble the end of the neck on a violin. Also called Common Fiddleneck, Intermediate Fiddleneck and Rancher's Fireweed. [Native Americans used a closely related plant, Coast Fiddleneck, Amsinckia spectabilis.] Young leaves were rolled into balls and eaten raw by the Coast Miwok. The seeds were used to make pinole, a ground meal.[1] caption: file: x - square 0" x 0" at 300 dpi - release: contact us regarding image add image to lightbox References Alden, Peter, and Fred Heath. National Audubon Society Field Guide to California. New York: Knopf, 1998. Beidleman, Linda H., and Eugene N. Kozloff. Plants of the San Francisco Bay Region: Mendocino to Monterey. Berekeley, CA: University of California, 2003. Mount Diablo Wildflowers. Walnut Creek, CA: Mt. Diablo Interpretive Association, 2005. Munz, Philip A. Introduction to California Spring Wildflowers of the Foothills, Valleys, and Coast. Eds. Dianne Lake and Phyllis M. Faber. Berekeley, CA: University of California, 2004. [1] URL: http://www.nps.gov/archive/prsf/nathist1/wildflowers/yellows/coast_fiddleneck.htm