42 IMPATIENS FULVA.—SPOTTED TOUCH-ME-NOT, OR SNAP-WEED. 
familiar from the ‘noli-me-tangere’ pictures in Roman Catholic 
countries.” The old European species is called /izpateens nolr- 
tangerc, and the earlier botanists of our country supposed they 
found the same species here, but it was finally discovered to be 
distinct from the European one. The botanical name of the 
genus, /wpatens, meaning impatient, is also derived from the 
peculiar behavior of the seed vessel when touched. The name 
Lmpatens is credited in modern works to Linnzus, who simply 
adopted it, as he tells us in the “Genera Plantarum,” from 
Rivinus, a writer of about 1690; and we find the same name in 
use by Deedens, a botanical author who flourished about the 
same time. Plukenet, Ray, and others of that period not only 
refer to /izpatiens, but are believed to have had our kind in 
view. The present species was included in the early collections 
of Clayton in Virginia and of Colden from New York, as we 
learn from the writings of Gronovius. It may appear singular 
to some that so old and evidently well-known a plant should 
bear so modern a name as one dating from only 1818, Nuttall 
having then named it Z /u/va. Of this Nuttall says: “This is 
the /. dzflora of Willdenow, and of Pursh in his ‘ Flora,’ and also 
the Z. maculata of Muhlenberg’s ‘Catalogue.’ As several species 
are spotted I have not adopted the last name; and | have 
changed the former because it was deceptive.” It may be 
observed about this that if names were to be changed in these 
days for such reasons as these, our list of synonyms would be 
hugely increased. Polygonatum biflorum may have but one 
flower from each axil, and again it is found with four; but no one 
seeks to change the name “because it is deceptive.” It is 
remarkable, however, that Nuttall’s name with no better reason 
has displaced the prior names in all American botanical works 
of the present time; even Mr. Sereno Watson, usually so scru- 
pulously impartial in the application of the laws of priority, uses 
Nuttall’s name as the proper one in his recent “ Bibliography.” 
Our work being to give a history of Botany as we find it, we, of 
course, have had to use the name in our quotation from Profes- 
sor Wood's Class-Book. 
