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 

 I -flowered peduncles 

 are produced opposite 

 the leaves from April 

 to July. The green 

 calyx is deeply 5- 

 lobed, about the 

 length of the corolla 

 until after flowering, 

 when it enlarges and 

 becomes wide spread- 

 ing. It is about I inch broad when the fruit is mature. The whitish 

 bell-shaped corolla is 5-lobed and has c, 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 i-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. 



257 



