BALSAMINACEiE. 135 



iinexpanded flower-bud. The development of the floral en- 

 velopes bemg arrested at an early period, these flowers are 

 spurless and less irregular (and their filaments are nearly, if 

 not entirely, destitute of the internal appendages), so that 

 their morphological structure is more readily made out than 

 in the conspicuous flowers. 



Etymology. From tiie Latin word inipaliens ; so called in allusion to 

 the sudden bursting of the pods, especially when touched. Tiie popular 

 name of Touch-me-not alludes to the same peculiarity. 



Geographical Distribution. One species of this genus is indigenous 

 in Europe and Northern Asia; two are natives of North America; while 

 the remainder, fully a hundred in number, belong to the tropical or sub- 

 tropical regions of the Old World, especially on the slopes of mountains, 

 the greater part to Eastern Asia. They flourish only in moist and shady 

 places. 



Properties. These are of no importance, although the European spe- 

 cies was formerly employed as a diuretic. The Garden Balsam (Impatiens 

 Balsamina, L.), an Indian species, is a well-known ornamental annual, the 

 flowers of which double with great facility, and sport into numerous varie- 

 gated forms. 



PLATE 152. Impatiens fulva, NutL; — summit of a branch both in 

 flower and fruit, of the natural size. (From Cambridge, Massa- 

 chusetts.) 



1. Diagram of the flower, brought into its true position as respects tiic 



axis, the transverse line underneath denoting the position of the 

 bract. 



2. The sepals and petals displayed in their relative position; the flower 



here exhibited in the inverted or resupinate-pendulous position in 

 which it naturally hangs on the stem, so as to bring the spur or 

 sac anterior. 



3. Vertical section of a flower through the spur, the stamens, and the 



ovary, enlarged. 



4. A flower with the sepals and petals removed, showing the connivent 



stamens, magnified. 



5. One of the stamens seen from within, showing the dehiscence of the 



anther, and the internal membranaceous appendage of the filament ; 

 magnified. 



