HYDROPHYLLACEAE WATERLEAF FAMILY 
ELLISIA 
Ellisia Nyctelea L. 
This innocent little plant is so common in partly shaded 
damp places and in cultivated fields that it is often classed as a 
weed. It is found from New Jersey to Minnesota and Saskatche- 
wan, south to Virginia 
and Kansas. 
It is an annual 
which is very easily 
destroyed by cultiva- 
tion. The rather weak 
and slender stems are 
usually much branch- 
ed and 4-12 inches 
high. The petioled 
leaves are 2-4 inches 
long and similar to 
those shown, the 
lower opposite and 
the upper alternate. 
The quite slender 
1-flowered peduncles 
are produced opposite 
the leaves from April 4 
to July. The green i 
calyx is deeply 5- 
lobed, about the 
length of the corolla 1 t 
until after flowering, 
when it enlarges and 
becomes wide spread- 
ing. It is about 1 inch broad when the fruit is mature. The whitish 
bell-shaped corolla is 5-lobed and has 5 minute appendages on the 
inner side. The 5 stamens are attached to its base and are in- 
cluded within the tube. The pistil consists of a 1-celled ovary, a 
short stout style and 2 stigmas. The placentas are 2-ovuled, 
nearly fill the ovary and are attached to it only at top and 
bottom. When ripe, the fruit hangs downward and the globose 
capsule is about one-quarter inch in diameter. 
Z2a/ 
