Page:Floras Lexicon-1840.djvu/47



ALSAM. . Class 5,. Order:. This plant, which is one of the most beautiful and delicate of popular annuals, is a native of East India, and forms a showy cone of carnation-like flowers finely variegated. It possesses the peculiar property of retaining, during the hottest months of summer, all its freshness and beauty, while many other plants are withered before they have flowered. It has been named Nolitangere and Impatiens, from the curious fact that when the seeds are ripe, they are thrown with considerable force out of the capsules on their being slightly touched; on this account it has been made the emblem of impatience, The Turks use it to represent ardent love.