Large-flowered blue-eyed Mary is a pretty annual wildflower. Its habit is to sprawl across the ground, although it may occur as an erect plant to 30 cm in height too. Several pairs of spatulate leaves may be found at the base. These may be toothed. The stem leaves tend to be longer and thinner, with the lower ones being toothed. All leaves are opposite.
The flowers are in rough whorls from the upper leaf axils. Individual flowers have a calyx from 5 to 8 mm in length, and a corolla of 9 to 17 mm in length. The tube of the corolla is abruptly bent near the base at a right angle to the calyx. A small spur occurs at the back side of this bend, just in front of the uppermost calyx teeth. Flowers are two-lipped, with the lower lobes being blue and the upper ones being white.
Collinsia grandiflora is found in moist, open slopes qand flats which dry during the summer. It is found from the lowland valleys to moderate elevations, usually west of the Cascade Mts, except in the Columbia River Gorge where it may be found as far east as Hood River, Oregon.
Collinsia grandiflora is found west of the Cascade Mts, except as mentioned above in the Columbia River Gorge. It ranges from southern British Columbia south to California.
The photo above shows the upper stem leaves of large-flowered blue-eyed mary prior to the plant beginning to bloom. Notice the long, thin leaves with occasional minute teeth along the margin.
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