inserted in the tube of the calyx; filaments hairy, the
2 upper ones villous; anthers incumbent. Style I,
hairy, slender towards the point, and terminated with
a small capitate stigma. Capsule bursting longitudinally
soon after the flower drops, and showing its
naked seeds, which continue to encrease in size, and
remain firmly attached till ripe. Seeds several, lenti-
form, facing the side that the capsule is burst, in a
kind of secund spike.
Our drawing was taken at the Nursery of Mr. Colvill,
from plants raised from seeds last Spring; they began
flowering when they were scarcely 4 inches high, and
continued to bloom the whole of the Summer, and
ripened abundance of seeds; the first flowers were
very small, agreeing exactly in size with those in the
figure of Barton’s Flora, of North America; but as
the plants increased in strength, the flowers became
larger, at length, making a handsome appearance.
The bursting of the capsules is a very curious circumstance,
and if the plants are not well watched, the
seeds will drop out and be lost.
The present plant has been generally considered as
a greenhouse biennial, but ours were certainly hardy
annuals, flowering very soon after being out of the
ground, and dying as soon as the seeds were ripened.
The best time for sowing the seeds, is the beginning
of April, if the weather prove mild; they should be
sown in a rich soil, in a warm border.
1. Calyx. 2. Calyx spread open, to show the insertion of the Petals and
Stamens. 3. One of the upper Stamens detached, to show the villous filament.
4. Capsules, showing the hairy Style and capitate Stigma: one of them burst,
showing the situation of the seeds.