Flora of North America species comparison

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Collinsia greenei

Collinsia wrightii

Greene's blue-eyed Mary, Greene's collinsia

Wright's blue-eyed Mary
Habit Annuals 10–30 cm. Annuals 5–25 cm.
Stems

erect to ascending.

erect.
Leaf

blades narrowly lanceolate to ovate or oblanceolate, margins entire or serrate.

blades linear to elliptic, margins entire or serrate.
Inflorescences

glandular;

nodes 1–5-flowered;

flowers crowded or not;

distalmost bracts linear, 2–3 mm.

densely glandular;

nodes (1–)3–6-flowered;

flowers not crowded;

distalmost bracts linear, 0–2 mm.
Pedicels

ascending to spreading, proximalmost sometimes longer than calyx, distalmost equal to or shorter than calyx, visible or not.

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

calyx lobes lanceolate to ovate, surpassing capsule, apex subacute to rounded;

corolla ± uniformly dark purple, rarely pale pinkish purple, 10–15 mm, sparsely glandular;

banner length 0.5 times wings, base with 2-crested, crescent-shaped folds extending 1–1.5 mm from throat opening;

stamens: filaments glabrous, adaxials sometimes hairy, 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

2–4, oval, 2–3 mm, margins thin, not inrolled.

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

= 14.

Collinsia greenei

Collinsia wrightii
Phenology Flowering Apr–Jul(–Aug). Flowering May–Aug.
Habitat Open chaparral or coniferous forests, serpentine slopes. Coniferous forests, usually in sandy, granitic soils.
Elevation 300–2500 m. (1000–8200 ft.) 800–4000 m. (2600–13100 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
Discussion

Collinsia greenei occurs on ophiolites, most frequently on soil derived from serpentinite and similarly altered ultramafic rock. Within its range, only C. rattanii occurs on these substrates; C. latifolia, C. parviflora, and C. wrightii are not on highly mafic soil.

The dark, nearly uniformly purple corollas of Collinsia greenei are distinctive, and the crescent-shaped flap of tissue on the adaxial lobes is unique. Other taxa have folds that bulge outward but are neither doubly crested nor crescent-shaped.

(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. 67. 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. grandiflora, 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. brachysiphon, C. monticola, C. torreyi var. brachysiphon, C. torreyi var. brevicarinata, C. torreyi var. wrightii
Name authority A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 10: 75. (1874) 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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