Bud, blossom, and seed-pod may often be seen together on this plant, as is common to such a prolonged season of bloom. The pod is 5-sided, somewhat fuzzy with down, and bright green. Though hard to uproot, as the gardener knows, because of its underground runners, the plant is weak and apt to flop. The leaflets close entirely upon their midribs at night; their juice is slightly sour, and relished by children, who detect in its acid taste a sufficient resemblance to the Red Sorrel (_R. acetosa_) to warrant the folk-name given this oxalis. [Illustration: LADIES’ SORREL: Oxalis corniculata, var. stricta.] *Jewel-Weed.* _Impatiens fulva._ *Spotted Touch-me-not.* *Lady’s Ear-Drop.* *Balsam.* Found in moist and shaded places from July to September. This large, branching, leafy plant, from 1 to 3 or 4 feet in height, is weak-fibred and juicy; its stalk is slightly ribbed, and swollen at the joints, very smooth, and a pale reddish-green. The large oval leaf, with its tapering tip and broad base, has a wide midrib, a coarsely toothed margin, and a thin, weak texture; the surface is dull, and pale green, with irresolute flecks of red near the edges. The leaves are alternately placed, on short pale stems. The curious flower consists of a deep cornucopia-shaped pocket terminating in a slender hook-like spur, and 5 petal-like parts; the texture is fine and smooth, and in color it is orange or red-orange, thickly speckled with tawny-red dots, except the small curving side-parts which are less strong in hue, and even tinged with green; the 5 stamens are gathered in the mouth of the pocket, beneath the stem. The flowers swing on slender foot-stems in small groups. Like all very juicy plants this wilts quickly when plucked. In bud the wing-like side-parts enfold the pocket. When ripe the seed-pods burst with a sudden snap that throws the seeds to a considerable distance; to this trait, and to the singular shape of the flower, are due the particular favor in which children hold the plant, and afford occasion, also, for the many by-names by which it is called, such as Snap-Weed, Silver-Weed, Lady’s Slipper, Lady’s Pocket, and Kicking Colt. Pale Touch-me-not (_I. pallida_) is a light lemon-yellow variety, very like _I. fulva_, though the pocket of the flower is shorter, the spur less curved, and it is not so numerously spotted. [Illustration: JEWEL-WEED: Impatiens fulva.] HOLLY FAMILY. ILICINEÆ. *Black Alder.* _Ilex verticillata._ *Winter Berry.* *Christmas Berry.* Found in moist wayside thickets, and on the borders of small streams; the inconspicuous flowers opening in June and July, and the bright berries ripening in October. This shrub is from 3 to 5 or 8 feet high, and has a round, tough stem, covered with a smooth dark gray bark.