BALSAMINACE^E. 65 



2. ERODJUM. VHerit. Heron' s-bill. 



(From the Greek tputtos, a heron ; the fruit resembling the head and beak of 

 lhat bird.) 



Sepals 5, equal, regular. Petals 5, mostly equal. Stamens 

 10, the 5 outer ones (opposite the petals) shorter and sterile; 

 the perfect ones with a nectariferous gland at the base. Styles 

 persistent, bearded on the inside, at length spirally twisted. 



E. cicutarium Smith : stem prostrate or diffuse, hairy ; leaves pinnately 

 divided ; segments sessile, pinnatifid, incised or acute ; peduncles several 

 flowered ; petals unequal. Geranium cicutarium Linn. 



Gravelly shore of Oneida Lake, N. Y. ; abundant. W. to Oregon and Cali- 

 fornia. May, June. . Leaves 2 4 inches long, oblong, with numerous pin- 

 natifid lobes. Flowers as large as those of Geranium pusiuum. Introduced ? 



Hemlock-leaved Heron's-bitt. 



ORDER XXIX. BALSAMHSTACE^E. BALSAMS. 

 Sepals 5, irregular, deciduous ; the two. upper commonly 

 united into one, the lower spurred. Petals 4, hypogynous, 

 linited in pairs, so that apparently there are only 2 petals. 

 Stamens 5 ; filaments subulate. Ovary 5-celled ; stigma sessile, 

 more or less 5-lobed. Fruit capsular, with 5 elastic valves 

 and 5 cells. Seeds solitary or numerous, without albumen. 

 Succulent herbaceous plants. Leaves simple, without stipules. 



IMPATIENS. Linn. Balsam. 



(In allusion to the bursting of the seed-vessels by the slightest touch.) 

 Sepals 5, the lower one spurred. Corolla 4-petalled, irregu- 

 lar ; the two inner petals unequally bilobed. Stigmas 5, united. 

 Capsule prismatic-terete, elongated, 5-valved, opening elas- 

 tically. 



1. 7. pallida Nutt.: peduncles solitary 2 5-flowered; leaves oblong- 

 ovate, on short petioles, coarsely and obtusely serrate, the teeth mucronate ; 

 lower sepal dilated, obtusely conic, shorter than the petals, with a very 

 short recurved spur; flowers sparingly punctate. /. noli-tangere Pursh. 

 I. aurea Muhl. 



Damp grounds. Can. to Geor. W. to Miss. Aug. . Stem 3 5 feet high, 

 much branched. Leaves obtuse at base, on petioles half an inch long, upper 

 ones sessile. Flowers gamboge -yellow, larger than the next. 



Snap-weed. Touch-me-not. 



2. I. fulva Nutt. : peduncles solitary, 2 4-flowered ; leaves rhombic- 

 ovate, somewhat obtuse, on longish petioles, coarsely serrate, the teeth mu- 

 cronate; lower sepal acutely conic, with a long recurved spur; flowers 

 with .crowded spots. 7. biflora Pursh. I. noli-tangere, var. Mich. I. ma' 

 culata Muhl. 



