OF ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 
137 
3.—BALSAM1NA MASTERSIANA, Paxt. THE NEPAUL BALSAM. 
Engravings. — Paxt. Mag. of Dot. vol. vi. p. 75 ; and our fig. 1, remote, pointed serratures. Flowers large, of a purplish red, axillary, 
in Plate 24. solitary. Spur curved, nearly the length of the flower.— (Paxt.) 
Specific Character. — Leaves opposite, linear-lanceolate, with 
Description, &c. —This plant is evidently very nearly allied to B. coccinea and B. cornuta , and may 
probably be tire same as the last-mentioned species, or a very slight variety of it. It was found by Mr. Gibson, 
collector to the Duke of Devonshire, growing on the Khoseea Hills, and seeds of it were sent by him to Chats- 
worth, in the autumn of 1837- The plant was named in honour of Mr. Masters, head gardener at the Botanic 
Garden, Calcutta. We do not know where seeds are to be procured; but as the plants raised at Chatsworth 
flowered abundantly during the whole summer of 1838, and ripened abundance of seed, we have no doubt seeds 
of this species will soon be plentiful in the seed-shops. The plant is perhaps rather hardier than the common 
garden balsam, and the culture is exactly the same. “ A light rich soil,” says Mr. Paxton, “ frequent shifting, 
a generous supply of water, due exposure to light, and a slight moist bottom heat, are the chief requisites 
previously to the appearance of the flowers.” Mr. Paxton also recommends placing the plants, when removed 
from the hotbed, into a moderately warm house, before putting them into the cool house, or open ground, where 
they are to flower. “ The advantage of this transference will be apparent in the larger size, deeper colour, and 
greater duration of the blossoms. The art in cultivating balsams to perfection,” Mr. Paxton continues, “ is to 
keep them continually growing after the seeds have germinated.” This is done by warmth and moisture ; and 
this is the reason that balsams sown in the open air, for want of sufficient warmth and moisture to their roots, 
seldom, if ever, attain the same beauty as those raised in a hotbed. 
GENUS II. 
IMPATIENS, Riv. THE TOUCH-ME-NOT. 
Lin. Syst. PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 
Generic Character. —Anthers 5, three of which are 2-celled, and two in front of the upper petal 1-celled. Stigmas 5, joined. Valves of 
capsule revolute, inwardly from the base to the apex. Peduncles axillary, branched, many-flowered—( G. Don.) 
Description, &c. —All the plants belonging to this genus are remarkable for the elasticity of the valves of 
the capsules, which when touched throw out the seeds with great force. This quality is possessed in a greater or 
less degree by all the plants belonging to the order ; and also by the plants belonging to the order Geraniacece, to 
which Balsaminaceae is very nearly allied, but it is more perceptible in Impatiens tlian in any other genus. The 
scientific name of Impatiens , and the popular names of Noli-me-tangere , or Touch-me-not, and Jumping Betty, 
allude to this property. 
1.—IMPATIENS NOLI-ME-TANGEIIE, Lin. THE COMMON NOLI-ME-TANGEllE, Oil 
TOUCH-ME-NOT. 
Engravings— Eng. Bot. t. 937, 2nd edit. vol. ii. t. 327 ; and our 
fig. 3, in Plate 24. 
Specific Character. — Peduncles 3-4-flowered, shorter than the 
leaves, and spreading under them; flowers pendulous; spur recurved 
at the end ; leaves ovate, coarsely toothed; joints of stem swollen.— 
( G. Don.) 
Description, &c.— The Noli-me-tangere is a well-known plant, so strikingly resembling the balsams in its 
stems and leaves, that it was formerly called the yellow balsam. The stem, which grows about two feet high, is 
t 
