134 The Romance of Wild Flowers 
from the elastic envelope and thrown to a distance 
of several yards. When growing the Wood Sorrel, or 
the yellow-flowered Oxalis corniculata (a naturalised 
plant), in the greenhouse, I have amused visitors by 
causing a fusillade from these vegetable sharpshooters 
and shown the conspicuous seeds on leaves of other 
plants all over the greenhouse. The leaves of Wood 
Sorrel contain a considerable amount of binoxalate of 
potash, which has formerly given them a vogue as 
salad ingredients and as medicine. 
The Balsam (Jimpatiens), though closely related to 
the Crane’s-bills and Wood Sorrels, has its petals and 
sepals quite differently arranged; in fact, whereas 
those already described were regular in their shapes, 
the Balsams are very irregular. Nominally we may 
say there are five sepals, but two of these are mostly 
absent, and when present are reduced to very minute 
proportions. One of the remaining sepals is greatly 
enlarged, funnel-shaped, and ending in a_ slender 
hollow spur. There are but three petals, but it is 
considered that originally there were five. As the 
flower hangs, one of these petals is above the opening 
to the funnel, the others one on each side. Now 
these side petals are each two-lobed, and there is 
every probability that the two lobes represent two 
petals which have become united at their base. The 
five stamens are united below and surround the pistil, 
which ends in a simple five-toothed stigma. ‘These 
organs hang down a little way inside the flower, so 
that the bees which frequent it must brush their 
backs against them. 
Our native species is a succulent, thick-jointed 
annual, known as the Yellow Balsam or Touch-me-not 
