BALSAMINACE^E. (BALSAM FAMILT.) 73 



Open woods and fields. April -July. Leaves somewhat blotched yith 

 whitish as they grow old. 



* * Root biennial or annual, 



2. O. Csiroiiiiifa mi m, L. (CAROLINA CRANESBILL.) Stems dif- 

 fusely branched from the base, hairy ; leaves about 5-parted, the divisions cleft 

 and cut into numerous oblong-linear lobes ; sepals awn-pointed, as long us the 

 emarginate (pale rose-color) petals; seeds very minutely reticulated (under a lens). 



Barren soil and waste places. May -July. Flowers small: the peduncles 

 and pedicels short. A state with more notched petals and more reticulated 

 seeds passes sometimes for G. dissectum, L. 



3. G. pusfLLUM, L. (SMALL-FLOWERED CRANESBILL.) Stems procum- 

 bent, slender, minutely pubescent ; leaves rounded kidney-form, 5 - 7 -parted, the 

 divisions mostly 3-cleft ; sepals awnless, about as long as the 2-cleft (bluish-pur- 

 ple) petals ; seeds smooth. Waste places, New York <fe Mass. (Nat. from Eu.) 



4. O, Robert! aiium, L. (HERB ROBERT.) Sparsely hairy, diffuse; 

 leaves 3-divided, the divisions 2-pinnatifid ; sepals awned, shorter than the (purple) 

 petals ; pods wrinkled; seeds smooth. Moist woods and shaded ravines. June- 

 Oct. Plant strongly odorous. (Eu.) 



2. ER ODIUM, I/Her. STORKSBILL. 



The 5 shorter stamens sterile. Styles in fruit twisting spirally, bearded in- 

 side. Otherwise as Geranium. (Name from epooSios, a heron.) 



1. E. CICUT\RIUM, L'Her. Annual, hairy; stems low, spreading; leaves 

 pinnate; the leaflets sessile, 1 -2-pinnatifid ; peduncles several-flowered. Shore 

 of Oneida Lake, New York, Knieskern. (Adv. from Eu.) 



ORDER 29. BALSAMINACE^E. (BALSAM FAMILY.) 



Annuals, with succulent stems gorged with a bland watery juice, and ver 

 irregular hypogynous Jlowers, the 5 stamens somewhat united, and the pod 

 bursting elastic-ally. Characters as in the principal genus, 



1. IMP ATIENS, L. BALSAM. JEWEL-WEED. 



Calyx and corolla colored alike and confounded, imbricated in the bud. Se- 

 pals apparently only 4 ; the anterior one, which is notched at the apex, probably 

 consisting of two combined ; the posterior one (appearing anterior as the flower 

 hangs on its stalk) largest, and forming a spurred sac. Petals 2, unequal-sided 

 and 2-lobed (each^ consisting of a pair united). Stamens 5, short : filaments 

 appendagcd with a scale on the inner side, the 5 scales connivent and united 

 over the stigma : anthers opening on the inner face. Ovary 5-cclled : stigma 

 sessile. Pod with evanescent partitions, and a thick axis bearing the several 

 anatropous seeds, 5-valved, the valves coiling elastically arid projecting the 

 seeds in bursting. Embryo straight: albumen none. Leaves simple, alter- 

 nate, without stipules. Flowers axillary or paniclcd ; often of two sorts, viz. 



