Collinsia greenei

A. Gray

Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 10: 75. 1874.

Common names: Greene’s blue-eyed Mary
IllustratedEndemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 17. Treatment on page 67. Mentioned on page 63, 68.

Annuals 10–30 cm. Stems erect to ascending. Leaf blades narrowly lanceolate to ovate or oblanceolate, margins entire or serrate. Inflorescences glandular; nodes 1–5-flowered; flowers crowded or not; distalmost bracts linear, 2–3 mm. Pedicels ascending to spreading, proximalmost sometimes longer than calyx, distalmost equal to or shorter than calyx, visible or not. Flowers: calyx lobes lanceolate to ovate, surpassing capsule, ape× 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. Seeds 2–4, oval, 2–3 mm, margins thin, not inrolled. 2n = 14.


Phenology: Flowering Apr–Jul(–Aug).
Habitat: Open chaparral or coniferous forests, serpentine slopes.
Elevation: 300–2500 m.

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.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.