FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE 
Balsamina was brought from Tropical Asia, and has held a good place 
in the gardener’s esteem ever since. There is a native species, Impatiens 
noli-me-tangere, the Yellow Balsam or Touch-me-not, which is thought 
to be only truly wild in the mountains of Westmoreland and North 
Wales, but which is now naturalised in many other districts. Then 
I. fulva, the Jewel-weed of North America, has become naturalised on 
some of our river banks within the last sixty or seventy years. The 
much finer I. Roylei figured in Plate 60 was introduced from the 
Himalayas in 1838. These, with the addition of I. svltani, of recent 
introduction from Zanzibar, are the principal species grown in gardens, 
many of the others being of weedy habit, which renders them unsuitable. 
Quite recently two welcome additions to the group have been made in 
I. awricoma and /. Hawkeri. 
Species Impatiens Balsamina (Balsamine). Common Balsam. 
Stem 1 to 2 feet. Leaves lance-shaped, toothed; lower 
ones opposite. Flowers, normally rosy red; but under cultivation it pro¬ 
duces very double and regular blossoms of every shade between white, 
yellow, and dark crimson; self-coloured, striped, and spotted. Growers 
distinguish different sections such as Rose-flowered, Camellia-flowered, etc. 
They are half-hardy annuals, and flower throughout the summer. 
I. fulva (tawny). Stem 2 to 4 feet. Leaves oval, coarsely toothed. 
Flowers orange spotted with reddish brown; the posterior sepal greatly 
swollen and ending in a hooked spur. Its singular and handsome 
appearance is increased by the light manner in which the flowers are 
suspendedJune to September. Hardy annual. 
L noli-me-tangere (Touch-me-not). Stem 12 to 18 in. Leaves oval, 
coarsely toothed. Flowers yellow, spotted with red; July. Hardy annual. 
I. Roylei (Royle’s). Stem 5 to 10 feet. Leaves lance-shaped, with 
sharp saw-teeth. Flowers purple or rosy in racemes; August. Hardy 
annual. A noble plant for the wild garden, where if once established it 
will look after itself. 
L sultani (Sultan of Zanzibar’s). Stem 1 to 3 feet. Leaves oval- 
lance-shaped. Flowers scarlet, the petals spreading flat; spur long and 
slender; almost continuous bloomer. Stove perennial. 
cultivation The hardy annual species and their varieties are easily 
raised from seed sown in the open border in April or May. 
The half-hardy annuals like I. Balsamina should be sown in pans or 
boxes of rich sandy soil, at the beginning of April or a little earlier, and 
placed on a gentle bottom heat, or in a warm frame, or near the glass in a 
sunny greenhouse. They should be kept moist; and the young plants 
• will soon appear. They must be pricked out into more roomy boxes, at 
