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.

Collinsia verna (Blue Eyed Mary) is a very beautiful, slightly fragrant wildflower boasting 2-lipped, blue and white flowers on slender stalks from mid-spring to early summer. The nectar and pollen of the flowers attract honeybees , bumblebees , butterflies , and skippers.

The flowers of blue-eyed Mary are only about a half inch wide, but this pretty wildflower makes up for it by usually appearing in abundance, covering a patch of forest floor with little sky-blue and white “faces.”

Large colonies of Blue-eyed Mary can make a striking display. They inhabit moist, low areas in rich woodlands and meadows. Blue-eyed Mary sharing habitat with Yellow Trillium (Trillium luteum.)

Blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia verna) FAMILY: Plantaginaceae (Plantain Family) FLOWERING PERIOD: Mid April to early May. DESCRIPTION: Small annual sometimes forming extensive colonies. Rather spindly, frequently branched from base, to one foot (sometimes taller). Leaves remote, opposite.

This woodland wildflower is unusual in having flowers that are close to a true blue color. The only other species in the genus that has been observed in Illinois is Collinsia violacea (Violet Collinsia).

Short winter annual herb of rich forests in southern Michigan; 20 to 40 cm tall, unbranched stem with opposite leaves; contains 1 to 3 whorls of 4 to 6 flowers and a bicolored corolla with an upper white lip and a lower blue lip.

Collinsia verna, commonly called blue-eyed Mary, is a showy bi-colored (blue and white) woodland wildflower that blooms in spring (April – May) on weak slender stems clad with opposite medium green leaves. In the wild, it is often found blooming in large sprawling drifts, sometimes covering an acre or more.