CRANES-BILL FAxMlLY 



I°5 



3.'* 0- iorniaildta, a nearly glabrous ererti plant with runners 

 and 2 — 8-flo\vered /£-i///«r/« hea.]:mg\e\\o\\ Jlou'eis, occurring also 

 in the west, is not indigenous. — Fl. July, August. Biennial. 



4. Imp.atien.s (Bal>am). — Succulent herbaceous plants with 

 simple leaves and monosymmetric Jloiccrs': sepals 3, petaloid, 

 deciduous, imbricate, the posterior one formi.ng a wide-mouthed 



IMP.\TrEXS .\OLi-T.AXGERE {SalsaiiC'. 



spur : petals 3, the anterior one broad, symmetrical, the two 

 lateral ones unequally 2-lobed ; stamens 5, -with short coherent 

 filaments : ovary 5-chambered, many-ovuled -.^/ri/it a. capsule with 

 5 elastic valves. If the capsule be touched when approaching 

 ripeness, its valves instantaneously curl into a spiral form, and 

 spring with considerable force many feet from the plant, dropping 

 the seeds by the way. Cleistogene flowers also occur. (Name 



