''Collinsia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of about 20 species of annual

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s, consisting of the blue eyed Marys and the Chinese houses. It was traditionally placed in the snapdragon

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Scrophulariaceae The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scr ...

, but following recent research in

molecular genetics Molecular genetics is a branch of biology that addresses how differences in the structures or expression of DNA molecules manifests as variation among organisms. Molecular genetics often applies an "investigative approach" to determine the st ...

, it has now been placed in a much enlarged family

Plantaginaceae Plantaginaceae, the plantain family or veronica family, is a large, diverse family (biology), family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales that includes common flowers such as Antirrhinum, snapdragon and Digitalis, foxglove. It is unrelated ...

. The genus is endemic to North America, and is named in honor of Zacchaeus Collins, a

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

of the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century. Many of the 20

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

may be found in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Two species, '' Collinsia parviflora'' (smallflower blue eyed Mary) and '' Collinsia violacea'' (violet blue eyed Mary), had medicinal uses among American Indian peoples. Species include: *'' Collinsia antonina'' *'' Collinsia bartsiifolia'' *'' Collinsia callosa'' *'' Collinsia childii'' *'' Collinsia concolor'' *'' Collinsia corymbosa'' *'' Collinsia grandiflora'' *'' Collinsia greenei'' *'' Collinsia heterophylla'' *'' Collinsia linearis'' *'' Collinsia multicolor'' *'' Collinsia parryi'' *'' Collinsia parviflora'' *'' Collinsia parvula'' *'' Collinsia rattanii'' *'' Collinsia sparsiflora'' *'' Collinsia tinctoria'' *'' Collinsia torreyi'' *'' Collinsia verna'' *'' Collinsia violacea''

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Collinsia'' speciesJepson Manual Treatment of ''Collinsia''
Annual plants Plantaginaceae genera Taxa named by Thomas Nuttall {{Plantaginaceae-stub