172 



THE GERANIUM FAMILY. 



2. Procumbent Oxalis. Oxalis corniculata, Linn. (Fig. 215.) 

 (Eng. Bot, t. 1726.) 



A more or less downy annual, or, in 

 warmer climates, a perennial, with 

 slender, spreading branches, seldom 

 above 6 incbes long. Leaves of 3 deeply 

 obcordate leaflets, with small stipules at 

 the base of the leafstalks. Peduncles 

 slender, axillary, bearing an umbel of 

 from 2 to 4, or rarely 5, pale yellow 

 flowers, much smaller than in the Sor- 

 rel O. 



Believed to be of American origin, 

 but now a common weed in all the hotter, 

 and most of the temperate regions of the 

 globe. In Britain, only in a few locali- 

 ties in southern England, except where 

 accidentally introduced into gardens. 

 Fl. the whole season. A closely allied 

 Fig. 215. American species, the O. stricta, with a 



more erect stem and no perceptible sti- 

 pules, has also occasionally appeared among garden weeds. 



IV. BALSAM. IMPATIENS. 



Herbs, mostly glabrous or almost succulent, with alternate, un- 

 divided leaves, no stipules, and very irregular flowers. Sepals and 

 petals all coloured, and consisting usually of 6 pieces, viz. : 2 outer, 

 opposite (sepals), flat and oblique ; the next (upper sepal, although by 

 the twisting of the pedicel it hangs lowest), large, hood-shaped, ending 

 below in a conical spur ; the fourth (lower petal, but uppermost from 

 the twisting of the pedicel), much smaller, but yet very broad, and 

 somewhat concave ; the 2 innermost (petals) very oblique and irre- 

 gularly shaped, more or less divided into two unequal lobes. Stamens 

 5, with very short, thick filaments, the anthers cohering in a mass 

 round the pistil. Ovary 5-celled, with several ovules in each cell. 

 Stigmas 5, minute, sessile or nearly so. Capsule bursting elastically in 

 5 valves, which roll inwards, scattering the seeds. 



