Var. strícta, Sav. Stem erect, somewhat glabrous to very villous; stipules none. (O. stricta, L.)—Common. May–Sept. Varies greatly.
4. O. recúrva, Ell. Like var. stricta of n. 3; leaflets larger (½–1½´ broad), usually with a brownish margin; flowers larger (6–8´´ long).—Penn. to S. Ill., and southward.
5. IMPÀTIENS, L. Balsam. Jewel-weed.
Calyx and corolla colored alike and not clearly distinguishable. Sepals apparently only 4; the anterior one notched at the apex and probably consisting of two combined; the posterior one (appearing anterior as the flower hangs on its stalk) largest, and forming a spurred sac. Petals 2, unequal-sided and 2-lobed (each consisting of a pair united). Stamens 5, short; filaments appendaged with a scale on the inner side, the 5 scales connivent and united over the stigma; anthers opening on the inner face. Ovary 5-celled; stigma sessile. Pod with evanescent partitions, and a thick axis bearing several anatropous seeds, 5-valved, the valves coiling elastically and projecting the seeds in bursting. Embryo straight; albumen none.—Leaves simple, alternate, without stipules, in our species ovate or oval, coarsely toothed, petioled. Flowers axillary or panicled, often of two sorts, viz.,—the larger ones, which seldom ripen seeds;—and very small ones, which are fertilized early in the bud; their floral envelopes never expand, but are forced off by the growing pod and carried upward on its apex. (Name from the sudden bursting of the pods when touched, whence also the popular appellation, Touch-me-not, or Snap-weed.)
1. I. pállida, Nutt. (Pale Touch-me-not.) Flowers pale-yellow, sparingly dotted with brownish-red; sac dilated and very obtuse, broader than long, tipped with a short incurved spur.—Moist shady places and along rills, in rich soil; most common northward. July–Sept.—Larger and greener than the next, with larger flowers, and less frequent.
2. I. fúlva, Nutt. (Spotted Touch-me-not.) Flowers orange-color, thickly spotted with reddish-brown; sac longer than broad, acutely conical, tapering into a strongly inflexed spur half as long as the sac.—Rills and shady moist places; common, especially southward. June–Sept.—Plant 2–4° high; the flowers loosely panicled, hanging gracefully on their slender nodding stalks, the open mouth of the cornucopiæ-shaped sepal upward. Spur rarely wanting. Spotless forms of both species occur.
Order 24. RUTÀCEÆ. (Rue Family.)
Plants with simple or compound leaves, dotted with pellucid glands and abounding with a pungent or bitter-aromatic acrid volatile oil, producing hypogynous almost always regular 3–5-merous flowers, the stamens as many or twice as many as the sepals (rarely more numerous); the 2–5 pistils separate or combined into a compound ovary of as many cells, raised on a prolongation of the receptacle (gynophore) or glandular disk.—Embryo large, curved or straight, usually in fleshy albumen. Styles commonly united or cohering, even when the ovaries are distinct. Fruit usually capsular. Leaves alternate or opposite. Stipules none.—A large family, chiefly of the Old World and the southern hemisphere; our two indigenous genera are
1. Xanthoxylum. Flowers diœcious; ovaries 3–5, separate, forming fleshy pods.
2. Ptelea. Flowers polygamous; ovary 2-celled, forming a samara, like that of Elm.