- Family: Balsaminaceae A.Rich.
- Genus: Impatiens Riv. ex L.
Impatiens hydrogetonoides Launert
- Genus: Impatiens Riv. ex L.
This species is accepted, and its native range is SW. Tanzania to N. Zambia.
[FZ]
Balsaminaceae, E. Launert. Flora Zambesiaca 2:1. 1963
- Habit
- Soft erect or prostrate perennial (?) herb; stems up to 50 cm. high, glabrous or very sparsely pilose, succulent.
- Leaves
- Leaves spirally arranged, petiolate; lamina 6–11 × 2–4·5 cm., narrowly elliptic or ovate-lanceolate, apex acute to subobtuse, usually acuminate, margin crenulate-denticulate, base cuneate with some slender tentacle-like hairs on the margins, membranous, bright to medium green on the upper surface, greyish-green to glaucous on the lower one, sparsely pilose on the upper surface, less densely so or glabrous on the lower one; secondary nerves 6–9 pairs, somewhat prominent beneath; petiole up to 5 cm. long, slender, subcanaliculate.
- Flowers
- Flowers axillary, solitary, in pairs or clusters of 3, pink; bracts up to 5 × 1·25 mm., triangular, subulate, tapering to a very fine point, glabrous; pedicels up to 6 cm. long, slender, succulent, usually glabrous.
- Calyx
- Lateral sepals 5–7 × 3·75–4·25 mm., broadly ovate, acuminate and acute, with a subcordate base, glabrous; posterior sepal up to 13 mm. long and c. 2·5 mm. deep (excluding the spur), shallowly and obliquely navicular, ± abruptly constricted into the spur, distally caudate, glabrous (always?); spur up to 40 mm. long, slender, tapering towards the slightly thickened end, glabrous.
- Corolla
- Anterior petal c. 14 mm. long and c. 12 mm. broad when flattened, helmet-shaped, dorsally very narrowly cristate with the crest terminating in a sharp point, slightly cordate and broadly saccate at the base, glabrous (always?). Lateral pair of united petals c. 20 mm. long, deeply 2-lobed; lobes with the margins slightly overlapping, glabrous; anterior lobe c. 15 × 10 mm., transversely broadly semi-elliptic, distally rounded, with a distinct small ridge at the very base; posterior lobe c. 1/3 the size of the anterior one, broadly elliptic or obliquely obovate (broadest slightly above the middle), entire.
- Ovary
- Ovary glabrous.
- Fruits
- Capsule c. 14 mm. long, fusiform.
- Seeds
- Seeds numerous, c. 2 × 1·6 mm., broadly elliptic to oblong in outline, reddish-brown, finely tuberculate, glabrous.
[FTEA]
Balsaminaceae, C. Grey-Wilson. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1993
- Habit
- Perennial herb up to 70 cm. tall, but usually less, often only 15 cm.; stems erect, usually solitary, arising from a crown supporting a number of thin tuberous, rather fleshy, roots, unbranched or with a few short lateral shoots.
- Leaves
- Leaves crowded towards the stem apices, spirally arranged; petiole 0.8–5.6 cm. long, slender; lamina lanceolate-elliptic to elliptic or oblanceolate, 2.8–13 cm. long, 1.4–7.5 cm. broad, attenuate at the base, the apex obtuse to long-acuminate, sparsely pubescent above, glabrous or sparsely pubescent on the veins beneath; lateral veins 3–8 pairs; margin crenate to crenate-serrate, generally with a few ± 1 mm. long fimbriae towards the base where the lamina runs along the petiole.
- Flowers
- Flowers in fascicles of 2–3, or solitary, ependunculate, pale pink to lilac or deep rose-purple, the upper petal of each lateral pair usually with a dark blotch towards the base.
- Bracts
- Bracts linear-subulate, 3–4 mm. long, inconspicuous.
- Pedicel
- Pedicels 2.9–7.8 cm. long, slender, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, deflexed in fruit.
- Calyx
- Lateral sepals ovate to lanceolate, 5–11 mm. long, 2.5–3.5 mm. broad, acuminate. Lower sepal obliquely and narrowly navicular, 8–14 mm. long, 3–5 mm. deep, abruptly constricted into a 18–25 mm. long curved filiform spur.
- Corolla
- Dorsal petal 11–13 mm. long, 12–19 mm. broad (when flattened), semi-cucullate, dorsally with a narrow crest terminating in a short acute point. Lateral united petals 18–27 mm. long, the upper petal of each pair about one-third the size of the lower; upper petal ovate-oblong, 6–13 mm. long, 4–19 mm. broad, usually apiculate; lower petal transversely ovate or semiorbicular, 12–17 mm. long, 9–14 mm. broad, with a slight emargination along the inner margin.
- Ovary
- Ovary glabrous.
- Fruits
- Immature fruit narrowly fusiform, ±11 mm. long and 4 mm. broad, glabrous.
Native to:
Zambia
Impatiens hydrogetonoides Launert appears in other Kew resources:
First published in Bol. Soc. Brot., sér. 2, 36: 54 (1962)
Accepted by
- Grey-Wilson, C. (1982). Flora of Tropical East Africa, Balsaminaceae: 1-76.
- Exell, A.W., Fernandes, A. & Wild, H. (eds.) (1963). Flora Zambesiaca 2(1): 1-351. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Literature
Kew Backbone Distributions
- Exell, A.W., Fernandes, A. & Wild, H. (eds.) (1963). Flora Zambesiaca 2(1): 1-351. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Flora of Tropical East Africa
- Grey-Wilson, Impat. Afr.: 133 (1980).
- Launert in Flora Zambesiaca 2: 177 (1963).
- Launert in Bol. Soc. Brot., sér. 2, 36: 54 (1962)
Flora Zambesiaca
Flora Zambesiaca
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
Flora of Tropical East Africa
Flora of Tropical East Africa
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
Kew Backbone Distributions
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2021. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2021. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0