2 



Contributions to Indian Botany : 



named in his list no fewer than forty-seven Indian species. Since that 

 time Mr. Royle informs us, (Illustrations page 151) that his collection 

 contains several not in Wallich's list, and Mr. Arnott writes me that he 

 has recently described sixteen new ones from Ceylon. To these last, 

 my excursions on the Courtallum and Shevagerry hills have added 

 about as many more. Of the Courtallum ones, those only of which 

 drawings were made, are introduced into this paper ; not having, either 

 specimens or sufficiently perfect notes, to enable me to define the rest. 

 This defect I regret the less, as I expect to have yet many more to add 

 to the list, and will avail myself of an opportunity of making them 

 known, and I hope at the same time, to revise the whole of the penin- 

 sular portion of the genus. 



As already observed, the peculiarities of the flower of the Balsaminia, 

 were, till lately, as little known as the number of its species. Linnaeus, 

 and subsequently Schreber, in the Genera Platitarum, describes the flow- 

 er of Impatiens as being composed of two small lateral sepals, five pe- 

 tals, and a nectary : the petals are said to be one above, two below, form- 

 ing a lip, and an intermediate pair between these and the upper one, the 

 nectary or spur between the lower pair ; thus viewing each of the late- 

 ral two-lobed petals as two. Decandolle, following Jussieu, assigns to it 

 two lateral sepals, and four petals-one above, one below, ending in a spur, 

 and two interior, more petaloid ones, alternate with the other two : 

 generally either cleft or furnished with some other appendage. In 

 1827, Professor Kunth published a memoir on tne subject, in which he 

 takes a different view from either of these, assigning to it five" sepals and 

 four petals, the fifth petal, required to make up the normal number, being 

 absent from abortion. The following extract from Lindley's Introduc- 

 tion to the Natural System of Botany, will explain how he arrives at 

 this conclusion : " The fact is, that the structure is usually this : the 

 centre of the flower is occupied by an ovarium, surmounted by a stig- 

 ma divided into five acute lobes. Around this stand five hypogynous 

 stamens, placed in a single row at equal distances from each other. 

 Hence the normal number of the parts of the flower should be five. The 

 corolla, however, consists of two bifid petals placed right and left, with a 

 wider space between their upper than lower edges. Upon comparing 

 the position of these with the stamens, it appears that each occupies the 

 place of three stamens, whence it is impossible to doubt, that they con- 

 sist of two soldered together. On the other hand, the space between 

 them, which answers to two stamens, is an equal proof of the abortion 

 of the fifth petal. And this view of the structure is confirmed by the 

 sepals. Thus on the outside of each pair of petals^ at their base, is 

 found a leaflet, the situation of which is opposite a stamen ; and oppo- 

 site the space left by the abortion of the .fifth petal, is a large broad 

 leaflet, made up by the union of two sepals. The position of the fifth 



