Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

COLLINSIA

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Collinsia violacea Nutt.

Montgomery County, Kansas

Winter annual

Height: 6-14 inches

Family: Scrophulariaceae - Figwort Family

Flowering Period: April, May

Also Called:

Narrow-leaf collinsia, violet collinsia, violet blue-eyed mary.

Stems:

Erect, slender, simple or branched, glabrous below, glandular pubescent above.

Leaves:

Opposite or partly whorled, sessile and clasping, lanceolate or elliptic, .6 to 1.8 inch long, .2 to .6 inch wide, broadest near middle or well above base; margins wavy or sparingly toothed; upper stem leaves nearly linear; lowermost leaves ovate, stalked.

Inflorescences:

Raceme; flowers in pairs or bundles from upper leaf axils.

Flowers:

Calyx bell-shaped, 5-lobed, finely pubescent; lobes lanceolate; corolla 2-lipped; upper lip 2-lobed, white, tipped with pale violet, much shorter than lower lip; lobes deeply notched; lower lip 3-lobed, purple, violet, or purple with white stripes extending between lobes; throat yellowish, sometimes with orange lines; lobes deeply notched; middle lobe folded downward, enclosing style and stamens; stamens 4.

Fruits:

Capsule, nearly spherical, 1/5 inch long; seeds 6-12, tiny, dark brown.

Habitat:

Open woods and fields; sandy soils.

Distribution:

Southeast 1/4 of Kansas.

Uses:

Native Americans used an infusion of root to treat coughs and colds.

Collinsia flowers