[3] It is native to North America, where it is also known as Aunt Lucy, false baby blue eyes, and waterpod.

[2] The genus was named in honor of British naturalist John Ellis, a contemporary of, and correspondent to, Carl Linnaeus.

[5] Ellisia nyctelea is an annual plant that grows to four to sixteen inches (10 to 41 cm) tall.

[6] The small one-quarter-inch-diameter (6.4 mm) 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.