76 BALSAMINACEJj. (BALSAM FAMILY.) 
1. IMPATIENS, L. Balsam. Jewel-weed. 
Calyx and corolla colored alike and confounded, imbricated in 
the bud. Sepals apparently only 4 ; the upper one, which is 
notched at the apex, probably consisting of two combined; the 
lower one largest and forming a spurred sac. Petals 2, unequal¬ 
sided and 2-lobed (each consisting of a pair united). Stamens 5, 
short: anthers opening on the inner face, connivent over the stig¬ 
ma. Ovary 5-celled : stigma sessile. Pod with evanescent par¬ 
titions, and a thick axis bearing the several anatropous seeds, 5- 
valved, the valves coiling elastically and projecting the seeds in 
bursting. Embryo straight: albumen none. — Leaves simple, 
alternate, without stipules. Flowers axillary or panicled; often 
of two sorts, viz. the larger ones, as described above, which sel¬ 
dom ripen seeds, and very small ones, which are fertilized early 
in the bud, when the floral envelopes never expand, but are forced 
off by the growing pod and carried upwards on its apex. 
(Name from the sudden bursting of the pods when touched, 
whence also the popular appellations Touch-me-not, or Snap- 
weed.) 
1 I. pallida, Nutt. (Pale Touch-me-not.) Flowers pale yd- 
low, sparingly dotted with brownish-red; sac dilated and obtusely 
conical, broader than long, tipped with a very short recurved spur.— 
Moist shady places and along rills, in rich soil; most common north¬ 
westward. July - Sept. — Larger and greener than the next, with 
larger flowers. Leaves ovate, petioled, toothed. 
I* fiilva, Nutt. (Spotted Touch-me-not.) Flotcers or¬ 
ange-color, thickly spotted with reddish-brown ; sac longer than broad, 
acutely conical, tapering into a recurved spur. — Rills and shady moist 
places, common, especially southward. June - Sept. - Plant 2° - 4° 
»gh : the flowers loosely panicled at the ends of the branches, hang- 
n t> g^ce u ly on their slender nodding stalks, the open mouth of the 
cornucopiae-shaped sepal upward. Flowers smaller than in the last. 
I Balsam'ina, the Garden Balsam or Ladies' Slippers , is becom¬ 
ing spontaneous about gardens. 
T ^°^ eolum “ajus, the Nasturtium of gardens, is the type of a 
family between this and the ensuing. 
Order 28. LIMNANTHACEJI. 
Annual low herbs , with pinnated alternate leaves mthout 
stipules, and regular 3-5 -merous flowers: calyx v abate 
