Spinster's blue-eyed Mary facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Spinster's blue-eyed Mary |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Collinsia
|
| Species: |
sparsiflora
|
Collinsia sparsiflora is a pretty flowering plant. People often call it spinster's blue-eyed Mary or few-flowered collinsia. It belongs to the Plantaginaceae family, which includes many well-known plants like plantains.
This plant grows naturally along the West Coast of the United States. You can find it as far north as Washington. Other types of this plant grow only in California.
Where It Lives
This plant is quite adaptable. It can grow in many different places, even in areas that have been changed by people. This includes places like gardens or fields.
It also likes a special kind of soil called serpentine soils. This soil is unique because it has certain minerals. You can find Collinsia sparsiflora from sea level all the way up to 5,000 feet high in the mountains.
What It Looks Like
Collinsia sparsiflora is an annual plant. This means it grows from a seed, flowers, produces new seeds, and then dies all in one year. It's also a herb, so it has soft, green stems instead of woody ones.
Its stem is thin and often reddish. It can grow up to 30 centimeters (about 12 inches) tall. The plant has flowers that grow in a special arrangement called an inflorescence. Each part of the stem has one to three flowers.
The flowers have long, pointy parts called sepals. These sepals protect the flower bud. The flowers themselves can be purple, lavender, or sometimes even white. After the flower blooms, it forms a round fruit. This fruit is a capsule that holds the seeds. It's often spotted with red and sits deep inside the long sepals.
Plant Friends: Fungi
Collinsia sparsiflora has special relationships with tiny living things called fungi. These fungi live in the soil and help the plant grow. They are like underground helpers!
Scientists have found different types of fungi living with this plant. On serpentine soils, it often hosts a type of fungi called Acaulospora AM fungi. But on other kinds of soil, it usually has Glomus fungi. These fungi are important for the plant's health and how it gets nutrients from the soil.
