Flora of North America species comparison

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Collinsia grandiflora

Collinsia wrightii

blue-lips blue-eyed Mary, giant blue eyed Mary, large-flower blue-eyed Mary, large-flower collinsia

Wright's blue-eyed Mary
Habit Annuals (4–)6–35 cm. Annuals 5–25 cm.
Stems

erect to ascending.

erect.
Leaf

blades narrowly oblong to lanceolate, margins subentire.

blades linear to elliptic, margins entire or serrate.
Inflorescences

glabrous or finely glandular to scaly-hairy;

nodes 1–6(–8)-flowered;

flowers not crowded proximally, sometimes crowded distally;

distalmost bracts linear, 5–6(+) mm.

densely glandular;

nodes (1–)3–6-flowered;

flowers not crowded;

distalmost bracts linear, 0–2 mm.
Pedicels

ascending to reflexed, proximals usually longer than calyx, visible.

ascending to spreading, sometimes reflexed, pendent and/or sigmoid in fruit, usually longer than calyx, visible.
Flowers

calyx lobes ± deltate, equal to capsule, apex acuminate;

corolla bluish, banner pale at center, 8–15 mm, keel glabrous;

banner length 0.8–1 times wings, lobe base without folds;

banner lobes and wings widely obovate, usually 2–6 mm wide;

throat strongly angled to tube, longer than diam., pouch prominent, angular;

stamens: filaments glabrous, basal spur 0.

calyx lobes narrowly deltate to lanceolate, equal to capsule, apex subacute to rounded;

corolla blue-violet to purple, banner white, cream, or pale lilac, 4–6(–9) mm, sparsely glandular;

banner length 0.7–0.8 times wings, lobe base without folds, wings surpassing keel by 1–2 mm;

stamens: abaxial filaments glabrous, adaxials glabrous or hairy at base, basal spur 0.
Seeds

(3 or)4, oblong, 2–2.5 mm, margins thickened, inrolled.

2, ovate to oblong, sometimes compressed, 2–2.5 mm, margins thickened, inrolled.
2n

= 14, 28, 42.

Collinsia grandiflora

Collinsia wrightii
Phenology Flowering (Mar–)May–Jul. Flowering May–Aug.
Habitat Gravelly or grassy margins of coniferous or open oak woodlands, moss-covered rock outcrops, other open areas. Coniferous forests, usually in sandy, granitic soils.
Elevation 0–1800 m. (0–5900 ft.) 800–4000 m. (2600–13100 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
Discussion

Collinsia grandiflora occurs mostly in the coastal ranges. The distinction between C. grandiflora and C. parviflora is usually clear in California where corolla lobe shape and size are mostly well correlated. The distinction is much less clear in British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington.

An alternative to the treatment here would be to follow F. R. Ganders and G. R. Krause (1986), who suggested that Collinsia grandiflora and C. parviflora be treated as one species with two intergrading varieties.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

A report of Collinsia wrightii (as C. torreyi var. wrightii) from western Nevada (J. T. Kartesz 1987) has not been verified by the author.

Collinsia wrightii is often confused with C. parviflora and less frequently with C. torreyi. The corolla of C. wrightii is purplish as in C. torreyi and not the bright blue of C. parviflora. Collinsia wrightii and C. parviflora differ most evidently in plant stature and corolla size; C. wrightii is generally more diminutive.

The large-flowered form of Collinsia wrightii, corolla (6–)8–9 mm, has been treated as C. torreyi var. brevicarinata and occurs only near Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks. The flowers are similar in size to those of C. torreyi as treated here but differ in corolla shape (wings surpassing tip of keel by 1.5–2 mm) and leaf shape and length. The seeds of the large-flowered form are compressed; those of the small-flowered form are not.

A phylogenetic study (B. G. Baldwin et al. 2011) showed that Collinsia wrightii and C. torreyi belong to divergent lineages and supports the recognition of these taxa as distinct species based on differences in the lengths of the wings relative to the tips of the keels.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 65. FNA vol. 17, p. 70.
Parent taxa Plantaginaceae > Collinsia Plantaginaceae > Collinsia
Sibling taxa
C. antonina, C. bartsiifolia, C. callosa, C. childii, C. concolor, C. corymbosa, C. greenei, C. heterophylla, C. latifolia, C. linearis, C. multicolor, C. parryi, C. parviflora, C. rattanii, C. sparsiflora, C. tinctoria, C. torreyi, C. verna, C. violacea, C. wrightii
C. antonina, C. bartsiifolia, C. callosa, C. childii, C. concolor, C. corymbosa, C. grandiflora, C. greenei, C. heterophylla, C. latifolia, C. linearis, C. multicolor, C. parryi, C. parviflora, C. rattanii, C. sparsiflora, C. tinctoria, C. torreyi, C. verna, C. violacea
Synonyms C. parviflora var. diehlii, C. parviflora var. grandiflora C. brachysiphon, C. monticola, C. torreyi var. brachysiphon, C. torreyi var. brevicarinata, C. torreyi var. wrightii
Name authority Lindley: Bot. Reg. 13: plate 1107. (1827) S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 24: 84. (1889)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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