BALSAM FAMILY 153 



JESCULUS L. 



Characteristics of the genus as abov'e given for the family. 



1. .a;. Hippocastanum L. Horse-C'hestxut. A round-topped tree 

 with frequently forking branches and stumpy t^iys. Leaves very 

 larue. "with 7 straight-veined leaflets. Flowers large and &ho"v\-y. 

 Corolla open and spreading, of 5 white petals, spotted with purple 

 and yellow. Stamens witli long, cui-ved filaments. Fruit large, cov- 

 ered with stout, soft prickles when young. Cultivated from Asia. 



2. M. glabra WiUd. Ohio Buckeye. A large tree, not unlike 

 a horse-chestnut. Leaflets generally 5. Flowers small. Corolla of i 

 upright, pale yellow petals. Stamens curved, about twice as long as 

 the petals. Fruit prickly at first. River banks. 



3. .S. octandra Marsh. Sweet Buckeye. Varying in size from a 

 low shrub to a tall tree. Leaves with 5-7 leaflets. Flowers in a short, 

 dense panicle. Petals 4, in "2 unlike pairs, bending inward ; blades of 

 the longer pair very small. Fruit not prickly. Woods W. and S. 



4. M. Pavia L. Red Buckeye. Shrubs. Stems erect, branched, 

 4-S ft. high. Leaflets usually -5, lanceolate to narrowly oval, taper- 

 pointed at both ends, finely serrate, smooth or nearly so. Flowers 

 in dense, erect panicles, bright red. Stamens rather longer than the 

 petals. Fruit nearly smooth. Common in open woods.* 



61. BALSAMINACE.S;. Balsam Family 



Tender, fleshy-stemmed, annual herbs. Leaves simple, with- 

 out stipules. Flowers bisexual, zygomorphic. Sepals usually 

 3, the largest one with a spur. Petals 3. Stamens 5, dis- 

 tinct or nearly so. Ovary 5-relled, bursting when ripe into 

 5 valves. 



IMPATIENS L. 



Characteristics of the genus those above given for the family. 

 Fruit a capsule (very fleshy in our species), which when ripe 

 bursts open with considerable force, throwing the seeds about. 



1. I. pallida Xutt. Wild Balsam, L.\dy's Slipper. Stem 3-.5 ft. 

 high, branching. Leaves oblong-ovate, 2-6 in. long, the lower often 

 long-petioled, the upper nearly sessile. Peduncles axillary, 1-3 in. 

 long, slender, 2-.5-flowered. Flowers pale yellow, slightly dotted 

 with brownish-red. Sac of the large sepal broader than it is long, 

 ending in a recurved spur about J in. long. Damp, shaded ground, 

 not verv common. 



