Blue-Eyed Mary, Collinsia verna

One of the few woodland ephemerals that is annual, Collinsia verna has been diminishing over the past several years at the few places where I've seen it. Remarkably, I visited one of the sites today in LaPorte County, Indiana and found thousands of plants in flower. I was also pleased to see several types of bees visiting the flowers in good numbers.

When my friend Deesie Daisy told me a while back that she was going to Messenger Woods in Will County, Illinois to see the widespread displays of this plant, I told her she might be in for a great disappointment. I hope I was wrong. If anyone could report observations from there or anywhere else, that would be wonderful.