Penny Perspectives - Blue-Eyed Mary

Day 212: As shown in this Penny Perspective, "small-flowered" is an appropriate epithet for Collinsia parviflora, also known as Small-Flowered Blue-Eyed Mary. In fact, the whole plant is seldom more than four inches tall. Even when growing in masses, its brilliant blue flowers fail to stand out against the drab greys and browns of rock and soil. A closer look at this plant would reveal that its petals form a tube which is bent near the base, turning Mary's bright blue eyes to face outward and slightly up, as if to welcome the summer sun and herald the start of wildflower season.

Team Biota's first day in the field since last autumn didn't yield any rarities, although it brought a surprise which was less than pleasant: ticks. I have not previously encountered ticks in the Park, but one of my botany partners and I each found one walking on us. The soil in the area where we picked them up was quite dry for this time of the year. I suspect we'll be seeing more and more of these nasty little creatures as changes in our regional climate shift toward a hotter and drier ecology.

Blue-Eyed Mary

Day 244: Collinsia parviflora (Blue-Eyed Mary) is not an uncommon plant, but it is very easily overlooked because of its diminutive size, as demonstrated when put in a "Penny Perspective." A closer look at the corolla reveals four white and blue lobes smiling up cheerfully from the tip of a downward-pointing tube. Mary is a lover of moist places and seeps, and can be found in both the forest and subalpine zones.

Collinsia Parviflora - A Penny Perspective

Day 242: The flowers of Blue-Eyed Mary (Collinsia parviflora) are not easy to spot, but they are worth a closer look when you find them. The tubular corolla is bent at an angle to the stem and terminates in four lobes, the upper two white or pale blue and the lower two a cheerful sky-blue. The foliage consists of slender, opposite leaves on the lower portion of the stem, but often appears in a whorl on the upper part. Flowers emerge at the tips and at leaf axils. Shown here in a Penny Perspective, Blue-Eyed Mary is a tiny treasure waiting to brighten your next hike...if you can find her.

Penny Perspectives - Blue-Eyed Mary

Day 219: Nosegays of Forget-me-nots get all the press when it comes to "little blue flowers," but for sheer blueness, nothing can rival Blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia parviflora). Although at first glance, her dainty blossom seems to have four petals, in actuality a fifth lurks behind the lower two. The lower petals are usually darker than the upper two. The flower forms a nodding tube, bent at the throat (side view to the right and immediately behind the open face). Look for Collinsias along Westside Road and in other low to mid-elevation locations, and keep in mind the "Penny Perspective" for scale.