''Ellisia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the forget-me-not family (

Boraginaceae Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees and herbs in 146, to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the order ...

), containing the sole species ''Ellisia nyctelea''. It is native to North America, where it is also known as Aunt Lucy, false baby blue eyes, and waterpod. The genus was named in honor of British naturalist

John Ellis John Ellis may refer to: Academics *John Ellis (scrivener) (1698–1791), English political writer *John Ellis (naturalist) (1710–1776), English botanical illustrator *John Ellis (physicist, born 1946), British theoretical physicist at CERN * Jo ...

, a contemporary of, and correspondent to,

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

. It was published and described by Linnaeus, in his book

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...

ed.2 on page 1662 in 1763.

Description

''Ellisia nyctelea'' is an annual plant that grows to tall. Lower leaves are arranged oppositely on a somewhat succulent stem, while upper leaves are alternate. The hairy leaves are typically long by wide and are deeply lobed or divided, with seven to 13 lobes or leaflets on each leaf. The small flowers are found on short slender stalks arising from the leaf axils. Each flower has five white or light blue petals that are united at the base to form a tube; these may be streaked or dotted with purple coloration. The calyx is hairy, green, and has five large teeth.

Range and habitat

''Ellisia nyctelea'' is widespread in North America, although it is largely absent from northern Canada, northern New England, the southeastern United States and the west coast of the United States. It is found both in disturbed, open habitats with bare soil, as well as in deciduous forests.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q10272012 Hydrophylloideae Flora of the United States Flora of Canada Monotypic asterid genera Boraginaceae genera Plants described in 1763