PROF. HEIfFREY OK THE MORPHOLOGY OF BALSAMTNACEiE. 159 



Legumen oblonguin continuum bivalve plano-compressum oligosper- 



mum. Semina rotunda compressa strophiolata. 

 Arbor Australia? intertropica? inermis ; foliis abrupte bipinnatis bijugis, 



pinnis paucijugis; racemis lateralibus et axillaribus spiciformibus ; 



petalis parvis virentibus. 

 Genus Adenantherce proximura maxima cum pietate tributum prseclaro 



Henrico Laboucliere, rerum ad colonias spectantium summo ministro, 



sub cujus auspiciis alteram expeditionis Gregorianae partem fauste 



perduximus. 

 Laboucheria chlorostachya. 

 A plagis boreali-occidentalibus Australiae usque ad flumen Burdekin 



tractus orientalis, tara in solo fertiliore quam steriliore planitierum 



montiumque satis frequenter obvia. 

 Ilia arbor infelicissimo nostro Leichhardtio " Leguminous Iron-bark 



tree" nuncupata hue pertinet. 



Dabam ex horto botanico Sydneyano, idibus Martii 1857. 



Note on tlie Morphology of the Balsaminucece. 

 By Prof. Henfrey, r.E.S., E.L.S. 



[Read Dec. 2, 1858.] 



The different theories which have been proposed to explain the 

 irregular character of the flower of Impatiens are briefly enume- 

 rated in Lindley's ' Vegetable Kingdom' (p. 490), where the view 

 of Kunth is adopted, namely, that the organ standing on the 

 opposite side of the flower to the spurred sepal consists of two 

 confluent sepals, which, with the spurred sepal and the two small 

 lateral sepals, make up a 5-leaved calyx ; while in the next circle 

 a petal is suppressed which should stand before the line of junc- 

 tion of the two confluent sepals. An apparently accidental 

 confusion exists, however, in the description of the flower of 

 Balsaminacecd given by Dr Lindley: the spurred sepal is cor- 

 rectly stated to stand next the axis of inflorescence (posterior) ; 

 nevertheless the supposed " double sepal" on the opposite side of 

 the flower is called " dorsal" and " back-piece," notwithstanding 

 that it stands in front within the subtending bract. This lapsus 

 is rendered more serious by the woodcut of the diagram of the 

 flower of Impatiens being reversed, so as to show the spurred 

 sepal in front. 



Kunth' s view, supported by Walker- Arnott, and adopted by 

 Lindley, was, we think, sufficiently refuted by Eoeper (Linnaea, 



