Blue-Eyed Mary, Spring Blue-Eyed Mary, Chinese Houses

Collinsia verna

kol-IN-see-uh  VER-nuh

Synonyms of Collinsia verna (4) (Updated on 12-21-23 from Plants of the World Online): Collinsia alba Raf., Collinsia bicolor Raf., Collinsia tricolor Raf., Linaria tenella F.Dietr.

Collinsia verna Nutt. is the accepted scientific name for Blue-Eyed Mary. The genus and species were named and described by Thomas Nuttall in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia in 1817. 

As of 12-21-23 when this page was last updated, Plants of the World Online lists 21 species in the Collinsia genus. It is a member of the plant family Plantaginaceae with 107 genera. Those numbers could change as updates are made on POWO. This species was formerly in the plant family Scrophulariaceae (Figwort).

The distribution map above for Collinsia verna is from Plants of the World Online. The map on the USDA Plants Database for the United States and Canada is similar but doesn’t include Texas or Alabama. The species could have a broader range than what the maps show 

The map on iNaturalist shows where members have made observations. Anyone can join and it is a great website to confirm and share your observations. The maps are continually updated as members post new observations.

THERE ARE SEVERAL LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING AND FOR BETTER ID.

Collinsia verna is a native species of North America happily growing throughout the central and eastern United States and up into Ontario, Canada. It prefers growing in moist soil in partly shaded to open woods and is considered a winter annual, with seeds germinating in the fall.

I found a HUGE colony of Collinsia verna growing on a friend’s farm outside of town when I was exploring for wildflowers and morels on April 27 in 2020. It was my first time visiting this area and my first sighting of this species. Besides the huge colony growing in a fairly open area, they were hit-and-miss throughout the woods. After several hours of walking through the woods, I went home with lots of photos but no mushrooms. I left the one I found.

After uploading the photos and saving the best, I went to iNaturalist to make correct identifications and save the observation. As it turned out, this species is Collinsia verna, most commonly known as Blue-Eyed Mary. If you haven’t tried iNaturalist, the site is a great way to identify your wildflower finding practically anywhere in the world. It is very easy to use and share your observations.

While there are several identifying features of the species, the flowers are of course the first thing you notice. In short, the flowers are two-lipped with two white upper lobes, two blue lower lobes, and a fifth lobe that is folded and concealed. A complete description is more complicated…

The leaves in the center of the plant are clasping, broadly lanceolate, fairly pointed, and have irregular margins to slightly toothed. Many plants have secondary flowers emerging from long pedicels above the leaf axils.

The main stem of the plant terminates with an inflorescence bearing 2-6 flowers on pedicles up to an inch or so long. Lower petals can be blue or purplish and rarely white. I didn’t see any flowers with white lower petals

The lower leaves on the stem are oval to orbicular with a few blunt teeth along the margins. They are smaller than the other leaves and seem to have short petioles

The photo above is a closer look at the auxiliary flower emerging from a leaf axil with a long, narrow pedicel, up to 1 1/2″ long.

The above photo shows a terminal inflorescence on the main stem of a plant. You can see the leafy bracts where the pedicels emerge.

Pedicels are light green, round (terete), with short, fine hairs (pubescent)). Each flower is approximately ½-¾” across, consisting of a green calyx with 5 teeth and blue and white corollas. The calyx is light green to purplish green. The calyx is often pubescent and its teeth are narrowly triangular in shape. The corollas are short, tubular, and divided into an upper and lower lip. The upper lip is cleft into 2 large rounded lobes that are white, while the lower lip is cleft into 3 lobes (one appears to be hidden until later).

The above photo shows flowers that are more purplish in color.

The above photo shows flowers with blue lower lips and a plant with more purplish lower lips. I think it is possible as the flowers get older they turn more purplish.

The lower leaves seem to be sessile but not clasping with rounded tips and lack the “teeth” seen on the upper leaves. The leaves and stems are slightly pubescent (fuzzy).

Ahhh… There it is!

There seems to be a lot going on in the above photo. Here you can see the fifth lobe between the two lower lobes is usually folded and concealed. This middle lobe contains the stamens and style of the flower.

Flowers persist after setting fruit. I think the black spot in the tube must be an insect. The next time I see this I will check. Sometimes you don’t notice things when you are taking photos.

Toward the end of my wildflower excursion, I ran across a nice colony wanting to be photographed.

April 27 was a great day for wildflower hunting even though I only found one morel. I saw many wildflowers I had not seen before including the delightful Collinsia verna.

I haven’t been back to this area for a while. The last time I checked, my friend had cattle grazing there which isn’t to good for many wildflowers…

I have enjoyed photographing and learning about the many wildflowers growing on the family farm and in other areas. The farm is in Windsor, Missouri in Pettis County (Henry County is across the street, and Benton and Johnson aren’t far away). I have grown over 500 different plants and identified over 250 species of wildflowers (most have pages listed on the right side of the blog). I am not an expert, botanist, or horticulturalist. I just like growing, photographing, and writing about my experience. I rely on several websites for ID and a horticulturalist I contact if I cannot figure them out. Wildflowers can be somewhat variable from location to location, so sometimes it gets a bit confusing. If you see I have made an error, please let me know so I can correct what I have written.

I hope you found this page useful and be sure to check the links below for more information. They were written by experts and provide much more information. Some sites may not be up-to-date but they are always a work in progress. If you can, I would appreciate it if you would click on the “Like” below and leave a comment. It helps us bloggers stay motivated. You can also send an email to me at thebelmontrooster@yahoo.com. I would enjoy hearing from you especially if you notice something is a bit whacky

FOR FURTHER READING:
PLANTS OF THE WORLD ONLINE (GENUS/SPECIES)
INTERNATIONAL PLANT NAMES INDEX (GENUS/SPECIES)
TROPICOS (GENUS/SPECIES)
FLORA OF MISSOURI (GENUS/SPECIES)
FLORA OF NORTH AMERICA (GENUS/SPECIES)
WORLD FLORA ONLINE (GENUS/SPECIES)
WIKIPEDIA (GENUS/SPECIES)
USDA PLANTS DATABASE
MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN
MISSOURI PLANTS
iNATURALIST
WILDFLOWER SEARCH
DAVE’S GARDEN
ILLINOIS WILDFLOWERS
LADY BIRD JOHNSON WILDFLOWER CENTER
CLAY AND LIMESTONE

NOTE: The data (figures, maps, accepted names, etc.) may not match on these websites. It depends on when and how they make updates and when their sources make updates. Some websites have hundreds and thousands of species to keep up with. Accepted scientific names change periodically and can be hard to keep with. Some of the links may use a name that is a synonym on other sites. In my opinion, Plants of the World Online by Kew is one of the most reliable and up-to-date plant databases and they make updates regularly. I make updates “at least” once a year and when I write new pages or add new photos but I do get behind. We are all a work in progress. 🙂