. 



FLORA OF THE EISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 201 



Cardiospermum halicacabum L., balloon vine, of the family Sapindaceae, has been 

 collected about Eckington. A native of the tropica, sometimes cultivated for orna- 

 ment northward, and escaping but not persisting. It is a slender annual vine, dis- 

 tinguished by its bladdery balloon-like fruits. 



98. IMPATIENTACEAE. Touch-me-not Family. 



1. IMPATIENS L. 



Flowers pale yellow, slightly spotted with brownish red; stems pale green. 



1. I. pallida. 

 Flowers orange, thickly spotted with reddish brown; stems usually reddish. 



2. I. biflora. 



1. Impatiens pallida Nutt. Pale touch-me-not. 

 Low shaded ground along the upper Potomac; occasional. June-Sept. Eastern 



N. Amer. 



2. Impatiens biflora Walt. Spotted touch-me-not. 

 Low shaded ground; common. June-Sept. Eastern N. Amer. (I.fulva Nutt.) 

 Plants with pale yellow or pinkish flowers occur occasionally. 



99. RHAMNACEAE. Buckthorn Family. 



1. CEANOTHUS L. 



Leaves 1-2 cm. wide, narrowed at the base, elliptic, glabrous; peduncles few, scarcely 

 if at all longer than the inflorescence 1. C. ovatus. 



Leaves 2-6 cm. wide, usually rounded at the base, ovate, hairy beneath; peduncles 

 numerous, usually much longer than the inflorescence 2. C. americanus. 



1. Ceanothus ovatus Desf. 



Flats about Little Falls. May. Eastern U. S. 



Plants from our region were described by Rafinesque as C. hcrbaceus. 1 



2. Ceanothus americanus L. New Jersey tea. 

 Open woods. June. Eastern U. S. 



The leaves were used as a substitute for tea during the Revolutionary War, hence 

 the common name. 



100. VITACEAE. Grape Family. 



Leaves digitately compound 1. PARTHENOCISSUS. 



Leaves simple or pinnately compound. 

 Flowers in small short cymes or panicles; petals spreading at their tips; berry not 



edible 2. AMPELOPSIS . 



Flowers in elongate racemes, cymes, or panicles; petals falling away united by 



their apices; berry edible 3. VITIS. 



1. PARTHENOCISSUS Planch. 



1. Parthenocissus quinquefolia (L.) Planch. Virginia creeper. 



Ravines and deciduous forests. May-June; fr. Aug.-Sept. Eastern N. Amer. 

 to Mex. (Ampelopsis quinquefolia Michx.; Psedera quinquefolia Greene.) 



Parthenocissus tricuspidata Planch., the Boston ivy, is cultivated, covering walls 

 as does the Virginia creeper. 



1 Med. Repos. N. Y. 11: 360. 1808. 



