i 



^ 



> 



E 



r 



garniHied wkh Imall leaves 



I M 



The three firft ibrts grow n turally in Spain, Portu- 

 raU anJ the ibuch of France ; the linl: has ligneous 

 Ihlks about a foot liigh, 

 like i)i<^>ie of Knot-grafii ; tiie flowers come out fingly 

 on the fide of the I'calks, which make little appear- 

 ance, fo is fcldom prekTved in gardens. 

 The fecund and third forts liave trailing ftalks near 



which fpread on the ground, gar- 



e of the firft fort ; the 



1 



f 

 1 



* 



two feet long, 



nilhed with leaves like tho 



hc?»ds of flowers come out from the joints of the ftalk, 



havln^ncat filvery bradea furrounding them, which 



make a pictty appearance- Their flowers appear in 



Tunc, and there is generally a fucccfTion of them for 



ac leaft two months ; and v/hen the autumn proves 



warm, they will ripen their feeds the beginning of 



October. 



_ hefc three forts may be propagated by feeds, which 



fliould be fown on a bed of light earth the beginning 

 of April ; the plants will come up in May, when they 

 Jhould be kept clean from v/eeds til! the plants are 

 fit to remove -, then the plants fhould be carefully tak- 

 en up, planting fome of each fort in fmall pots, and 

 die other into a warm dry border, obferving to wa- 

 ter and fhade them undl they have taken nev/ root ; 

 after which, thofe which are planted in the full ground 

 will reqi;ire no other culture but to keep them clean 

 from weeds; for in the ordinary winters of England, 

 they will live in the open air : but as thefe plants are 

 fomeumes killed in fevere winters, therefore I advife 

 fome plants to be planted in .pots, which m.ay be placed , 

 in a common frame in winter, where they may enjoy 

 the open air in mild weather, but be fcreened from 



froft. .; :, .^ i . ■ 



As the feeds of thefe plants do not conft^ntly ripen 



in England, fo they may be propagated by cuttings, 



which, if carefully taken off^ in May or June, and 



planted in a fhady border, will in tv/o months put 



out roots; then in moift weather they may be tranf- 



planted, and afterward treated as the old plants. 



;Thc other three forts are natives of the warm parts of 



America ; the fourth fort groves naturally at Beunos 



Ayres ; the fifth and fixth, in many of the iflands in 



the Weft-Indies. 



Tliefe have creeping ftalks, which fend out roots from 



the joints, which faften to the ground in their native 



foil, whereby they fpread to a great diftance ; and 



in this country, when the pots are plunged into a 



tan-bed, they will multiply as faft, by taking root in 



tan, or any of the other pots of plants which are near 



them. 



The flowers of the fourth fort make little appear- 

 ance, therefore the plant is rarely propagated, except 

 in botanic gardens for variety ; but thofe of the fifth 

 And fixth fort have. dry heads. of flowers, refenibling 

 thofe of the Amaranthoides, under which genus they 



were formerly ranged. ' • - .- ; ,.,:.•- 



Thefe three forts are tender, fo will not thrive in 



the open air in England ; therefore their feeds fhould 



I 



rA- 



be fown oa a hot-bed, in the fpring, at thefagne tirpe as 

 the Amaranthus, Gomiphrena, and other tender plants; 

 and afterward, if they are plunged into the tan-bed 

 in the ftove, their branches will put out roots, whereby 

 they may be propagated in plenty, 

 MP AT I ENS. Rivin. Ord. 4. Lin. Gem Plant. 

 899. Balfamina, Tpurn. Inft. R. H. 418. tab. 235. 

 Female Balfamine i in French, Balfamine..']J.\- .;.^<: 



The Characters are, ' , '. • * . 



The flower has a ttvo-leaved fmall empalemenl, which 

 is coloured^ and placed on the jfde of the petals. ■ h^ath 

 five petals which are unequal^ and fhaped like a lip" 

 flower V the petals are roundifh^ the upper is ere£f^ flight ly 

 cut at the point into three parts^ where it is fharp-pointed^ 

 forming the upper lip ; the two lower petals are Iroad^ 

 ohtufe^ irregular^ and reflexed \ thefe ccnftitute the lower 

 lip i the intermediate pair are alike^ and are placed oppo- 

 fite^ joining at their bafe. It hath a 7ie£}arium in the 

 hottcm of the fower^ fhaped like a hood or cowU which 

 is oblique to the mouthy riftng on the otitjide^ whofe bafe ends 

 in a tail or fpur.^ It bath five fhort ftamina which are 

 narrow toward their bafe^ and incurved, terminated by 



I. 



I M P 



fnmmits, which join at the top round the flaming, hut are 

 divided at their bafe. In the bottom is ftiuatcd an oval 



flmrp-pcintcd gcrr.icn, laving mflyk, but a finglc fligmc 



fijorter than the fummits, The germen ofterward becomes 

 a capfule with one cell, opening with an elafliciiy in five 

 valves, which twifl fpirally^ ^-^-d coniaiirfevtral roundijb 



feeds fixed to a cohoun. 



This genus of })lants is ranged in die fifdi fcction of 

 Linn:t;us's ninctecntli clafs, v/hich includes thofe plants 

 which have Angle flowers in tlie empalement, whole 

 ftamina vary, in number and fuuation. 



The Species are, 

 Impatiexs [Noli tangere) pedunculis miUkiflons fo- 

 litariis, foliis ovatis, geniculis caulinus tumentlbus. 

 Flor. Suec. 722. hnpatiens with fcot-ftalks fuftainin<r 

 many fingle flowers^ oval leaves^ and fialks having 

 fwelling joints, Balfamina lutea, five. Noli me tan- 



B. P. 306. Yellow Balfamine^ or Totich me 



gere. C. 



not. 



2. .Impatihns {Balfunir.a) pedunculis unifloris aggre- 



3 



gatis, foliis lanceolacis, neftaris floribus brevioribus. 

 Hort. Upfal. I76. Impatiens with foot-ftalks fuftaining 

 ftngle flozvers, which arife in chjiers^ fpear-fJjaped leaves, 

 and neElariunis which are foorter than the flower, Bal- 

 famina fcemina. C. B. P. ^06, I*he female Bafa^nine. 

 Impatiens ifTrifiora) pedunculis trifloris folitariis, 

 foliis angufto-lanceolaus. Flor. Zeyl. 315. Impatiens 

 with three f.owers- on a foct-ftalk, and narrow fpear- 

 fhaped leaves, Balfamina crefta, fc. foemina, Perficai 

 angufto folio Zeylanica. Herm. Par, Bat. 105. Upright, 

 or female Balfamine of Ceylon^ with a narrow Peach leaf. 

 There are feveral other fpecies of this genus, which 

 grow naturally in India, w^hich are plants of little 

 beauty, fo have not been introduced into the Enorlifli 

 gardens ; the forts here mentioned, are all I have 

 yet ittn growing here, except one/ tall fort from 

 North America. " ' *: ' 



- - J - -s 



The firft fort grows naturally in feveral parts of 

 Weftmoreland and Yorkfliire, but is frequently in- 

 troduced into gardens by way of curiofity. It is an 

 annual plant, which rifes about a foot and a half 

 high, with an upright fucculcnt ftalk, whofe joints are 

 fwollen, garniflied v,dth oval fmooth leaves, which 

 ftand alternate on every fide the ftalk. The flowers 



come out from the wrings of the ftalks upon long 

 flehder foot-ftalks, which branch into feveral other 

 fmaller, each fuftaining one yellow flower, com'pofed 

 of five petals,' which in front are fliaped like the lip 

 or grinning flowers, but at their bafe have a ne6i:a- 

 rium with a long tail like the flowers of Indian Crefs ; 

 thefe are fucceeded by taper pods, which", when ripe, 

 burft open upon being touched, and'twift fpirally 

 like a fcrew, cafting put the jfeeds with, great elaf- 

 ticity. If the feeds of' this plant are' permitted to 

 Icatter, they generally lucceed better than when they 

 are fov/n ; for unlefs they are fown in the autumn foon 

 after they are ripe, they very rarely grow. The plants 

 .require no care but to keep them clean from^ )yeeds, 

 "and tfcn them where they are too clofe.' tt flowers in 

 June, and the feeds ripen about'a month or five weeks 

 after J this delights m a ftiady fituation and d moift 

 fod. 



_- - k - ^ ^ < 



The fecond fort is the female Balfamine, of which 

 there are feveral varieties ; the common fort has been 

 i long an'in'hatitant in the Englifli gardens, of this tKere 

 t is the white, "the red, and ftriped flowered, arid like- 

 . wife the fingle and double flowering, with variegated 

 flowers of two colours. Thefe forts are fo hardy as 

 to rife in the full ground 5 and where the feeds Icat- 

 ter, the plants will come up the following fpring ; 

 ; but fuch felf-fown plants do not come 'to flower fo 

 early as tliofe which are raifed'upon a hot-bed ^ how- 

 . ever, they generally are ftronger plants, and continue 

 . much longer in the autumn in flower than the others, 

 fo are an ornament to the garden^ when there is a 

 greater fcarcity of flowers. 



This fort rifes a foot and a half high, dividing into 



. many fucculent branches, which are garniflied with 



long, fpear-fliaped, fawed leaves. The flowers come 



■ out from the ioints of the ftalks, upon flender foot- 



Italks 



^^ 



yh^ 



