maiden blue-eyed Mary

9.9

A small wildflower with tiny blue and white flowers that grows in western North America

noun

: Collinsia parviflora

The delicate flowers of the maiden blue-eyed Mary add a splash of color to the woodland understory.

Examples

We spotted several maiden blue-eyed Mary blooming along the trail in early spring.
Gardeners sometimes plant maiden blue-eyed Mary to attract native pollinators.
The maiden blue-eyed Mary blooms in the spring.
Have you seen the maiden blue-eyed Mary in the garden?
The delicate flowers of the maiden blue-eyed Mary add a splash of color to the woodland understory.
We spotted several maiden blue-eyed Mary blooming along the trail in early spring.
Gardeners sometimes plant maiden blue-eyed Mary to attract native pollinators.

Synonyms

Collinsia parviflora

vsmaiden blue-eyed Mary

Specialized

9.9

A small wild plant from western North America with tiny blue and white flowers

is the common name for the same plant rather than the formal name

Surface Forms

maiden blue-eyed Mary singular

maiden blue-eyed Marys plural

Morphology

maiden + blue-eyed + Mary

The phrase combines transparent descriptive parts ('blue-eyed' and 'maiden') that evoke a delicate, blue‑flowered image, and in a botanical context (e.g. 'blooms') a learner could infer it names a flower. However, the full lexicalized referent — a specific wildflower called 'maiden blue‑eyed Mary' — depends on conventional naming (use of the proper name 'Mary') and cannot be fully predicted from the constituents alone.

Etymology

Maiden blue-eyed Mary likely comes from the tiny blue-and-white flowers that look like little blue 'eyes'. The word maiden suggests 'delicate' and Mary echoes the 'Virgin Mary' used in many old plant names, so the name helps you picture this small, delicate wildflower.