PN ON tlie 
i ee og ee ee 
AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA 
OF HORTICULTURE. _ 179 
impatiens—conlinued. 
discharge the” seeds when ripe). Balsam. Syn. Bal- 
samina. ORD. Geraniacee, A genus comprising about 
135 species of greenhouse or hardy, annual or biennial 
herbs, sometimes suffrutescent, natives, for the most 
part, of the mountains of tropical Asia and Africa, rare 
in Kurope, North America, North Asia, and South Africa. 
Flowers purple, yellow, pink, or white, often showy; pe- 
duncles axillary; petals four, cruciate; two outer ones 
alternating with the sepals, upper one arched and emar- 
ginate, lower one drawn out into a spur at the base; 
branches many-flowered. Leaves alternate, very rarely 
opposite. Comparatively few of the species are now in 
cultivation. The hardy annual kinds may be readily raised 
from seed, in spring, and they succeed in any ordinary 
light soil. The stove and greenhouse species may be pro- 
Impatiens—continued. 
in a moist stove until beginning to flower, when a cooler 
and drier position will be more suitable. Towards 
November, the leaves will drop, and the stems become 
swollen, thus indicating their ripening off. The plants 
should then be removed, and suspended near the glass 
in a house where there is a temperature of about 55deg., 
and a rather dry atmosphere maintained. Here they 
should be allowed to remain quite dormant, until starting 
time in April, the following year, 
I. rss. Fock (pitcher-like).* fl. pale purple, suffused and 
speckled with rose-red, lin. long; sepals greenish, broadly 
orbicular-cordate, acute; standard orbicular, notched at top, 
spurred behind; lip eylindri-saccate, Hp rounded with a short 
red incurved spur jin. long; lateral lobe rounded, terminal, 
pendulous, obtuse; racemes 2in. to 5in. long, many-flowered 
August and September. J, bright green, often with pink edges 
Fic. 284. IMANTOPHYLLUM MINIATUM. 
pagated from cuttings; or from seeds, when these are to 
be obtained. Cuttings generally root freely in a close 
frame. J. Sultani is one of the most beautiful and easily 
grown plants in cultivation. It succeeds well ina green- 
house throughout the summer, but requires an. inter- 
mediate or warm structure in winter. If cuttings are 
taken from strong, healthy shoots, they root quickly in 
a propagating frame, at almost any season. They are 
best inserted singly in small pots, and afterwards kept 
somewhat restricted at the root, by only allowing very 
moderate shifts. Useful decorative plants may be grown 
in 5in. or Gin. pots, and they usually succeed better in 
these than in larger sizes. A rich, open soil should be 
used, This species is comparatively new, and has been 
recommended for summer bedding outside; but it has 
hitherto been tried without much success. T. flaccida 
alba is very useful; it succeeds under the same treatment 
as I. Sultani. I. Jerdonia is a dwarf species, and requires 
special treatment. It should be placed in a basket, about 
April, in a compost of peat and loam, and be suspended 
and midrib, 3in. to 6in. long, petioled, elliptic-ovate or lanceolate, 
acuminate, finely crenate-serrate. Stem succulent, branched up. 
wards, A. 3ft. to 6ft. Western Himalayas. A handsome hardy 
) 
Balsamina (Balsam).* Common Balsam. jl. red; pedi- 
cels aggregate. Summer. J. lanceolate, serrated; lower ones 
opposite, h. lft. to 2ft. Tropical Asia, 1596, A well-known 
annual, SYN. Balsamina hortensis. See Fig. 286. For general 
cultivation, see 
coccinea (scarlet). jl. red; spur incurved, as long as the 
— June to September. l. alternate, oblong-oval, serrated ; 
leafstalks with many glands. A. 2ft. Hast Indies, 1808, Stove 
annual, (B. M. at oe 
bicolor (two-coloured). fl., lateral sepals green, small; vexil- 
= white, green at back, very convex ; labellum purple, ‘ample, 
with a long, curved, obtuse tail; mouth pure —J— pedicels 
slender, glabrous, about Zin. long, generally aggregate. December. 
i, alternate, glabrous, 3in, to bin, or more long, elliptic-ovate, 
acuminate, attenuated towards the base, coarsely serrated. 
stem purplish-green, woody at base, herbaceous above. Fer- 
nando Po, 1862. Stove perennial. (B. M. 5366.) 
candida (white). A. white, slightly speckled with crimson, 
—— showy. Autumn. J. narrow-lanceolate, acuminate, with 
crimson serration, in whorls of three. h, 6ft. Himalayas, 1839. 
Hardy annual. (B. R. 1841, 20.) 
