''Collinsia'' is a genus of about 20 species of annual flowering plants, consisting of the blue eyed Marys and the Chinese houses. It was traditionally placed in the snapdragon family Scrophulariaceae, but following recent research in molecular genetics, it has now been placed in a much enlarged family Plantaginaceae. The genus is endemic to North America, and is named in honor of Zacchaeus Collins, a Philadelphia

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

of the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century. Many of the 20 species may be found in California. Two species, ''

Collinsia parviflora ''Collinsia parviflora'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae (previously Scrophulariaceae) known by the common names maiden blue eyed Mary and small-flowered collinsia. This tiny wildflower is a common plant throughout ...

'' (smallflower blue eyed Mary) and ''

Collinsia violacea ''Collinsia'' is a genus of about 20 species of annual flowering plants, consisting of the blue eyed Marys and the Chinese houses. It was traditionally placed in the snapdragon family Scrophulariaceae, but following recent research in mol ...

'' (violet blue eyed Mary), had medicinal uses among American Indian peoples. Species include: *''

Collinsia antonina ''Collinsia'' is a genus of about 20 species of annual flowering plants, consisting of the blue eyed Marys and the Chinese houses. It was traditionally placed in the snapdragon family Scrophulariaceae, but following recent research in mol ...

'' *''

Collinsia bartsiifolia ''Collinsia bartsiifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name white blue-eyed Mary. It is endemic to California, where it is widespread in the mountain ranges and deserts and found in several habita ...

'' *'' Collinsia callosa'' *'' Collinsia childii'' *''

Collinsia concolor ''Collinsia concolor'' is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name Chinese houses. It is native to Southern California and Baja California. It grows in the woodlands and chaparral of the coastal mountain ran ...

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Collinsia corymbosa ''Collinsia corymbosa'' is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name round-headed Chinese houses. It is endemic to the coastline of California north of the San Francisco Bay Area, where it is uncommon and sca ...

'' *''

Collinsia grandiflora ''Collinsia grandiflora'' is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names giant blue eyed Mary and large-flowered collinsia. This wildflower is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern Ca ...

'' *''

Collinsia greenei ''Collinsia greenei'' is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name Greene's blue-eyed Mary. It is endemic to northern California, where it grows in the coastal and inland mountains, including the North Coast ...

'' *'' Collinsia heterophylla'' *''

Collinsia linearis ''Collinsia linearis'' is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name narrowleaf blue-eyed Mary. It is native to the coniferous forests of the Klamath Mountains in northern California and southern Oregon somet ...

'' *''

Collinsia multicolor ''Collinsia multicolor'' is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family, known by the common names San Francisco blue eyed Mary and San Francisco collinsia. It is endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area, where it is known from San Franci ...

'' *''

Collinsia parryi ''Collinsia parryi'' is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name Parry's blue eyed Mary. It is endemic to central and southern California, where it is found in the southern Coast Ranges and in the Transverse ...

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Collinsia parvula ''Collinsia'' is a genus of about 20 species of annual flowering plants, consisting of the blue eyed Marys and the Chinese houses. It was traditionally placed in the snapdragon family Scrophulariaceae, but following recent research in mol ...

'' *''

Collinsia rattanii ''Collinsia rattanii'' is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name sticky blue-eyed Mary. It is native to the coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest of the United States from Washington to northern Cali ...

'' *''

Collinsia sparsiflora ''Collinsia sparsiflora'' is a flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae known by the common names spinster's blue-eyed Mary and few-flowered collinsia. One variety of the species is native to the West Coast of the United States as far north ...

'' *''

Collinsia tinctoria ''Collinsia tinctoria'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae known by the common names sticky Chinese houses and tincture plant. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the woodlands and forests of the mountain ...

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Collinsia torreyi ''Collinsia torreyi'' is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name Torrey's blue-eyed Mary. It is native to California and adjacent sections of Oregon and Nevada, where it grows in the coniferous forests of s ...

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Collinsia verna ''Collinsia verna'', or blue-eyed Mary, is a winter annual that is native to the eastern and central parts of North America but has become endangered in the states of New York and Tennessee. The flowers are bicolored white and blue. It is a plan ...

'' *''

References

External links

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