YELLOW 



JEWEL-WEED. TOUCH-ME-NOT. 



CPl. LXXVI 



Geranium Family. 



Impatien s pallida. Pale Jewel- weed. 



Flowers. Pale yellow, somewhat spotted with reddish brown ; common 

 northward. 



Impatiens fiilva. Spotted Jewel-weed. 



Flowers. Orange-yellow, spotted with reddish brown; common south- 

 ward. 



Two to six feet high. Leaves. Alternate; coarsely toothed; oval. 

 Flowers. Nodding; loosely clustered, or growing from the axils of the 

 leaves. Calyx and Corolla. Colored alike, and difficult to distinguish ; of 

 six pieces, the largest one extended backward into a deep sac ending in a 

 little spur, the two innermost unequally two-lobed. Stamens. Five; very 

 short; united over the pistil. Pistil. One. 



These beautiful plants are found along shaded streams and 

 marshes, and are profusely hung with brilliant jewel-like flowers 

 during the summer months. In the later year they bear those 

 closed inconspicuous blossoms which fertilize in the bud and are 

 called cleistogamous flowers. The jewel- weed has begun to ap- 

 pear along the English rivers, and it is said that the ordinary 

 showy blossoms are comparatively rare, while the cleistogamous 

 ones abound. Does not this look almost like a determination on 

 the part of the plant to secure a firm foothold in its new envi- 

 ronment before expending its energy on flowers which, though 

 radiant and attractive, are quite dependent on insect visitors for 

 fertilization and perpetuation? 



The name touch-me-not refers to the seed-pods, which burst 

 open with such violence when touched, as to project their seeds 

 to a comparatively great distance. This ingenious mechanism 

 secures the dispersion of the seeds without the aid of the wind or 

 animals. In parts of New York the plant is called " silver-leaf," 

 from its silvery appearance when touched with rain or dew, <y 

 when held beneath the water. 



