ILLUSTRATIONS. 89 



not, or Yellow Balsam,^ which will serve as a representative 

 of the Balsaminaceous family, a group of plants of which the 

 species are chiefly tropical. The flowers grow on slender 

 peduncles from the axils of the leaves ; they are large and 

 showy, yellow, spotted with orange-red, and curiously spurred 

 behind ; one or two of them are perfected on each peduncle, 

 which besides bears a few others which are minute and imper- 

 fect, but producing the essential organs are those which usually 

 mature seed. The perfect flowers are very curious in struc- 

 ture. The sepals and petals are all coloured, and usually con- 

 sist of six pieces, of which three represent the calyx, and three 

 the corolla. The three outer or sepals consist of two small flat 

 opposite pieces, and a third much larger, which is really the 

 upper sepal, but, from a twist in the stalk, hangs lowest ; this 

 sepal is hood- shaped, and prolonged behind into a curved co- 

 nical spur. The petals are equally without symmetry; the 

 lower one, or that which from the twisting before mentioned 

 actually stands uppermost, is much smaller than the other two, 

 but still broadish and concave, while the other two, which stand 

 innermost of the whole six, are large broad and irregular in 

 shape, oblique, and more or less divided into two unequal 

 lobes. These flowers have five stamens whose anthers cohere 

 round the pistil, and five minute sessile stigmas. The fruit is a 

 long pointed capsule, which when ripe bursts open into five 

 valves with great elasticity, the valves suddenly curling up, and 

 the seeds being hurled to some distance. Hence the plant has 

 received its generic name of Impatiens, and also its specific 

 name, Noli-me-tangere, or Touch-me-not. 



We next come to the Calycifloral division, in one portion 

 of which, now to be noticed, it will be remembered the sta- 

 mens are generally perigynous, and the petals distinct. 



* Intpatiens Noli-me-tangere— Vl&iQ 10 D. 



