Yellow Forget-Me-Not. Woolly-Breeches
Amsinckia, Lehm. Borage Family
Hispid annuals. Leaves.—Alternate; oblong-ovate to linear. Flowers.—Small; yellow or orange, in coiled spikes or racemes. Calyx.—Five-parted; persistent. Corolla.—Salver-shaped, or somewhat funnel-form; with five-lobed border; the throat naked or with minute hairy tufts opposite the lobes. Stamens.—Five. Ovary.—Of four seedlike nutlets. Style filiform. Stigma capitate.
We have several species of Amsinckia, all of which have small yellow flowers, resembling in form our little white forget-me-nots. The genus is a Western American one, and the species are very difficult of determination. They are all hispid plants, very disagreeable to handle, and are generally of rank growth. They often occur in great masses, when they become rather showy.
The largest-flowered species, which is also the most common one in the south, is A. spectabilis, Fisch. and Mey. The corolla of this is often half an inch long and half an inch across, of an orange-yellow, with deeper orange spots in the throat.