268 



L£:S SON'S WITB PLANTS 



hang on the plant; or he may lay them on a table and apply a 

 light pressure with the fingers. Ripe pods dropped upon the walk 

 are shattered the instant they strike. Two wild plants inhabiting 

 low places, closely allied to the balsam, are known as jewel-weeds, 

 and bear curiously sensitive pods. 



3166. The fruits of many plants east their seeds forcibly, often 

 throwing them a distance of several feet. The oxalis and violet 

 may be observed; also wistaria, jack bean (now grown in the South), 



Pig. 259. 



Explosion of the 

 balsam pod. 



Pig. 260. 



Pruit of balIo6n-vine, 

 or carcliospermum. 



and some dry-podded garden peas and beans. Ripe pods of Japanese 

 wistaria (a leguminous climber much used for porches and arbors^ 

 explode with great force when laid upon a table in a warm room. 

 (See 331.) 



317. The curious papery- inflated fruit of the 

 balloon vine, or heartseed of the gardens (and 

 native in the southwestern states), is shown in 

 Fig. 260. It is 3-loculed, with a single globular 



