About Collinsia sparsiflora Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
This plant, scientifically named Collinsia sparsiflora Fisch. & C.A.Mey., is an annual herb. It produces a slender, reddish stem that reaches up to 30 centimeters in height, topped with an inflorescence made of widely spaced nodes; each node holds between one and three flowers. The flowers have very long, pointed sepals, and petals that are purple, lavender, or occasionally white. Its fruit is a spherical, red-spotted capsule that develops deep inside the long sepals. It grows in several habitat types, including disturbed and cultivated areas. It has a weak affinity for serpentine soils, and can be found growing from sea level up to 5000 feet in elevation. Ecologically, Collinsia sparsiflora hosts distinct populations of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: Acaulospora AM fungi when it grows on serpentine soil, and Glomus when it grows on non-serpentine soil types.
