Early bloomer.  Orange-yellow flowers on a curved, hairy stem.  Food for the painted lady butterfly, toxic to livestock and horses.

Notes:  Borage Family, the same as the Popcorn Flower and Forget-Me-Nots.  Small trumpet-like flowers on a distinctive coiled “shepherd’s crook”.  To some the coil looks like the curled top of a fiddle.  Its is common in disturbed, open areas.  The hairy stem can be an skin irritant to some -- best to warn the public of this.  Peterson and Niehaus both give the Fiddle Neck as: Amsinckia intermedia.  USDA lists A. intermedia as "Common Fiddleneck" while A. Menziesii is "Menzies' Fiddleneck" (see below and click on link for more complete classifications).

Click on species name below to go to USDA for this plant

Kingdom Plantae -- Plants 
    Subkingdom Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants 
        Superdivision Spermatophyta -- Seed plants 
            Division Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants 
                Class Magnoliopsida -- Dicotyledons 
                    Subclass Asteridae 
                        Order Lamiales 
                            Family Boraginaceae -- Borage family 
                                Genus Amsinckia Lehm. -- fiddleneck
                                    Species Amsinckia menziesii (Lehm.) A. Nels. & J.F. Macbr. 
                                    -- Menzies' fiddleneck