16 FLOWERS OF THE HILLS AND DRY PLACES 



In Germany an ointment was made from the leaves, and used to 

 dispel malicious influences. The carpels called cheeses are termed 

 " fairies' cheeses ". The Musk Mallow was said to encourage love. 

 Gerarde has the following couplet: 



"If that of health you have any special care, 

 Use French Mallows, that to the body wholesome are." 



The seeds were said to nourish the dead, so the Greeks planted 

 the plant on graves. Like other members of the Mallow tribe Musk 

 Mallow yields fibres of excellent quality. The Chinese use one as 

 food. It is cultivated in gardens, and is easily improved. 



ESSENTIAL SPECIFIC CHARACTERS: 



63. Ma/va moschata, L. Stem erect, radical leaves reniform, 

 crenate, with pinnatifid lobes, upper leaves lobed, flowers large, rose- 

 pink, calyx lobes narrow, fruit hairy. 



Yellow Balsam (Impatiens noli-me-tangere, L.) 



A delicate plant and scarce in this country, Touch-me-not has 

 apparently not been preserved in any seed-bearing beds. It is con- 

 fined to the Northern Cold Temperate Zone, and is distributed 

 sparingly throughout Europe, Siberia, and West Asia. It is recorded 

 in twenty-four vice-counties, but except in Salop, Montgomery, West 

 Lancashire, and Westmorland, all west of the Pennine Chain, it is 

 doubtfully indigenous, and probably an escape. It is found in Ireland. 



Yellow Balsam certainly seems to be wild in the dingles of Shrop- 

 shire, where it grows in moist wooded places adjoining rivers in upland 

 districts. It is associated there with such plants as Elecampane and 

 Dame's Violet, both equally uncommon, and Water Pepper, Water 

 Mints, amongst more common semi-aquatic species. 



This is a tender succulent plant, tall and semi-erect, irregularly 

 branched from a single main stem, the branches opposite, and the 

 nodes swollen. The leaves are thin, egg-shaped to lance-shaped, 

 coarsely toothed, the whole plant smooth, flat, and shining, and the plant 

 grows in extensive beds like Musk, the stems requiring support. The 

 leaves protect the flowers from the rain. They are expanded during 

 the day, but at night they hang down. 



The flower-stalks are erect at first, but bend down. The flowers 

 are yellow, with red spots and blotches, large, the large sepal hood- 

 shaped, drooping, the spur curved backwards. The flower-stalks bear 

 numerous clustered flowers, but are themselves solitary. There are 



