96 THE GERANIUM FAMILY. (Impatiens. — 
Several East Indian species are cultivated for their flowers, and amongst 
them the well-known garden Balsam (I. Balsamina), whose flowers become 
double with great readiness, The J. parviflora, a native of eastern Europe 
and Russian Asia, has more or less established itself as a weed in some of 
the southern counties of England. It is a rather tall species, with many 
flowered peduncles, and very small flowers, with a very short spur, 
1, £. Noli-me-tangere, Linn. (fig. 218). Yellow Balsam, Touch-me- 
not.—An erect, glabrous, branching annual, 1 to 2 feet high; the stem 
rather succulent, and swollen at the nodes, Leaves stalked, ovate, pointed, 
toothed, of a pale green, and very flaccid. Peduncles axillary, slender, 
bearing one or two perfect flowers, which are large and showy, yellow, 
spotted with orange; the hooded sepal ending in a long spur, curved up- 
wards, and bent back upon the flower. These flowers seldom set their seed 
in this country; the pods are chiefly produced by minute, imperfect 
flowers, of which there are several on the same peduncles as the perfect 
ones. 
In moist woods and shady places, in the hilly districts of Europe and 
Russian Asia, extending northwards into Scandinavia. In Britain, chiefly 
in northern England and North Wales, extending neither into Scotland 
nor Ireland. Fl. summer, till rather late. 
2,£.fulva, Nutt. (fig. 219). Orange Balsam.—An annual, closely 
resembling the last species, except that the flowers are of a deeper orange- 
colour, spotted with reddish-brown, and the spur is very closely bent back 
upon the calyx, and slightly notched at the extremity. 
A North American plant, which appears to have fully established itself 
along the Wey, and some other streams in Surrey. FU. swmmer. 
es 
The Rue of our gardens (Ruta graveolens), and the Mraxinella of flower- 
gardens (Dictamnus Frawxinella), both from southern Europe, belong to the 
very large family Autacee, chiefly numerous within the tropics, and in the 
southern hemisphere, but unrepresented in Britain. The Diosmas, Correas, 
and many other South African and Australian plants in our plant-houses, 
are members of the same family. 
XXI. ACERACEA. THE MAPLE TRIBE. 
{A Tribe of Sapindacee, or the Sdpindus family.) 
The Maple tribe corresponds to the Linnean genus Acer, 
which modern botanists have broken up into two or three, by 
the separation of a few North American or East Indian species. 
The whole group consists, however, but of very few species, 
ranging over the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere. 
The true Sapindacee are mostly tropical trees or lofty climbers, and — 
are seldom to be met with even in our hothouses; but the Horsechestnuts 
(4ésculus, Linn.), so much planted in our parks and grounds, form another 
distinct tribe of the same family, or, according to some botanists, the small 
adjoining family of Hippocastanea, which, like Aceracee, contains a small 
