Collinsia sparsiflora
Collinsia corymbosa
few-flower blue-eyed Mary, few-flower collinsia, spinster's blue eyed Mary
round-head Chinese-houses
erect to ascending.
decumbent.
blades usually linear to oblong, margins entire.
blades lanceolate to ovate, margins crenate, abaxial surface glabrous, adaxial subglabrous or finely gray-hairy.
glabrous or finely hairy, eglandular;
nodes 1- or 2(or 3)-flowered;
flowers not crowded;
distalmost bracts linear to narrowly lanceolate, 2–4(+) mm.
sparsely and finely glandular;
whorl 1 per branch;
nodes (1–)3–10-flowered;
flowers crowded;
distalmost bracts ovate, 5–9 mm.
ascending to spreading, usually longer than calyx, visible.
ascending to spreading, shorter than calyx, not or scarcely visible.
calyx lobes narrowly triangular to lanceolate, surpassing capsule, apex sharply acute to acuminate;
corolla lavender to purple, rarely white, 5–20 mm, keel sparsely hairy near tip;
banner length 0.8–0.9 times wings, lobe base without folds;
banner lobes and wings oblong to obovate, entire or notched;
stamens: abaxial filaments glabrous or sparsely long-hairy at base, adaxials sparsely spreading-hairy on proximal 1/2, basal spur 0.
calyx lobes oblong to ovate, surpassing capsule, apex rounded;
corolla usually whitish, 14–22 mm, wings sparsely and finely glandular, not hairy;
banner length 0.1–0.3(–0.4) times wings, lobe base without folds, reflexed portion 1 mm, shorter than basal portion, brownish, not red-banded;
stamens: filaments hairy, basal spur 0.
with red blotches.
4–12, round, flattened, 2–3 mm, margins thin, not inrolled.
8–16, oblong to oval, 2–2.5 mm, margins thickened, inrolled.
= 14.
Collinsia sparsiflora
Collinsia corymbosa
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
Collinsia sparsiflora occurs in open habitats and woodland edges; it is easily recognized by the red blotches on fruits and the frequent occurrence of a single flower per node. In immature plants, the presence of a red band spanning the circumference of the base of the calyx lobes along with the relatively frequent occurrence of a single flower per node distinguishes C. sparsiflora.
V. M. Newsom (1929) recognized five varieties in Collinsia sparsiflora.
Two varieties are recognized here to accommodate the general pattern of locally distinct small- and large-flowered populations of Collinsia sparsiflora. Where these taxa are sympatric, the author has not found intermediates that suggest local interbreeding.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Collinsia corymbosa is known from Mendocino County. Specimens from other sites identified as C. corymbosa are C. bartsiifolia var. hirsuta. A phylogenetic study using DNA showed evidence of a close relationship between C. corymbosa and C. bartsiifolia (B. G. Baldwin et al. 2011).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Corollas 9–20 mm, angles between corolla tube-throat and calyx 45–70°; seeds 2.5–3 mm. | var. sparsiflora |
1. Corollas 5–9 mm, angles between corolla tube-throat and calyx 30–45°; seeds 2–2.3(–2.5) mm. | var. collina |
CA
OR
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
