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Unbowed, endangered fiddleneck orchestrates come-back

Editor's note: This feature is brought to you by the Laboratory's Archives and Research Center.

The large-flowered fiddleneck (Amsinckia grandiflora) is an endangered plant native to Site 300. It blooms in March and April, producing orange, funnel-shaped flowers with five petals that grow in a coiled cluster. The flower gets its name from its stem, which bears a large number of small flowers, and curls over at the top in a way that suggests the head of a violin.

Once thought to be extinct, the fiddleneck was found at Site 300 in 1938. LLNL scientists monitor the plant’s population because the overall numbers are shrinking. Through research and restoration activities, they hope to insure that the large-flowered fiddleneck populations can be sustained.

Over the years, much has been written about the large-flowered fiddleneck. Check out: NewslineWeekly Bulletin, May 1974 ; May 1980 and April 18, 1984.

April 18, 2008