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Impatiens etindensis

Overview

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Vulnerable
Threat status

Description

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Family Balsaminaceae

Herbs annual or perennial [rarely epiphytic or subshrubs ]. Stems erect or procumbent , usually succulent, often rooting at lower nodes. Leaves simple , alternate, opposite, or verticillate , not stipulate , or sometimes with stipular glands at base of petiole , petiolate or sessile, pinnately veined, margin serrate to nearly entire, teeth often glandular-mucronate. Flowers bisexual , protandrous, zygomorphic, resupinate to through 180° in axillary or subterminal racemes or pseudo-umbellate inflorescences, or not pedunculate , fascicled or solitary. Sepals 3(or 5) ; lateral sepals free or connate , margins entire or serrate; lower sepal (lip) large, petaloid , usually navicular , funnelform , saccate , or cornute , tapering or abruptly constricted into a nectariferous spur broadly or narrowly filiform , straight, curved , incurved , or ± coiled, swollen at tip , or pointed , rarely 2-lobed, rarely without spur. Petals 5, free, upper petal (standard ) flat or cucullate , small or large, often crested abaxially, lateral petals free or united in pairs (wing) . Stamens 5, alternating with petals, connate or nearly so into a ring surrounding ovary and stigma, falling off in one piece before stigma ripens; filaments short, flat with a scalelike appendage inside; anthers 2-celled, connivent, opening by a slit or pore . Gynoecium 4- or 5-carpellate, syncarpous ; ovary superior, 4- or 5-loculed, each locule with 2 to many anatropous ovules ; style 1, very short or ± absent; stigmas 1-5. Fruit an indehiscent berry, or a 4- or 5-valved loculicidal fleshy capsule, usually dehiscing elastically. Seeds dispersed explosively from opening valves , without endosperm; testa smooth or tuberculate .

Two genera and more than 900 species: mainly in tropical and subtropical Africa, some species in temperate Asia, Europe, and North America; two genera and 228 species (187 endemic, two introduced ) in China; three additional species (all endemic) are of uncertain placement.

All but one of the species in the family belong to Impatiens. The unispecific Hydrocera is confined to India and SE Asia.[1]

Genus Impatiens

Morphological characters are the same as those of the family , except: lateral petals always united in pairs into lateral, united petals; fruit a fleshy , explosive capsule; seeds often dispersed elastically from valves when ripe .

More than 900 species: tropical and subtropical mountains of the E hemisphere, some species in temperate Asia, Europe, and North America; 227 species (187 endemic, two introduced ) in China; three additional species (all endemic) of uncertain placement.

Taxonomically, Impatiens is a very difficult group. The stem is usually fleshy and succulent, making collected specimens difficult to dry and conserve. The texture of the sepals and petals is very delicate, extremely thin and hyaline . In dried specimens, all of the flower parts are often plicate and coalesced . Although it is difficult to separate and reconstruct the flower parts, determining the shapes and sizes of the sepals and petals, and apices of the anthers (i.e. , obtuse or acute), is necessary for identification. To identify and describe every species exactly, we removed flowers from specimens, immersed them in water, and dissected them under a microscope to observe their flower and anther characters clearly. This process is not only time-consuming but also uncertain of success.[2]

Habitat

Ecology: The species occurs in submontane-montane forest at 1,500-1,700 m altitude . This plant grows in the forks of stunted trees only 3 m from the ground near the peak of Etinde, but the Njonji collection was taken from the upper part of a tall fallen tree.[3]


List of Habitats :1.5Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Dry

Taxonomy

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Notes

Publishing author : Cheek & Eb.Fisch. Publication : Kew Bull . 54(2): 472 (1999) 1999

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Impatiens

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 2407 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

I. '96-009-22' · I. abbatis · I. abyssinica · I. academiae-moguntiae · I. acaulis · I. 'Accent Cranberry' (Cranberry Impatiens) · I. 'Accent Lavender Blue' (Blue Impatiens) · I. 'Accent Lilac' · I. Accent Series · I. acehensis · I. acmanthera · I. acuminata · I. adenopus · I. aff. forrestii · I. aff. platypetala · I. affinis · I. aganantha · I. agumbeana · I. ahernii · I. aitchisonii · I. akka · I. alba · I. albida · I. albo-flava · I. albo-pustulosa · I. albo-rubra · I. albopurpurea · I. alborosea · I. 'Alexis' · I. aliciae · I. allanii · I. alpicola · I. alveolata · I. amabilis · I. ambahatrensis · I. amoena · I. amphibia · I. amphorata · I. amphorata Edgew. 'Azalaeflora' · I. amplexicaulis · I. 'Anaea' · I. anaimudica · I. analavelensis · I. anamallayensis · I. andersonii · I. andohahelae · I. andringitrensis · I. angusti-calcarata · I. angustiflora · I. angustifolia · I. angustisepala · I. anhuiensis · I. ankaizinensis · I. annamensis · I. 'Annbu' · I. annulifer · I. anovensis · I. Antigua = 'Kitigua' · I. antongiliana · I. apalophylla · I. apiculata · I. appendiculata · I. 'Apricot' (Seashell Impatiens) · I. apsotis · I. aquatilis · I. 'Arabella' · I. arachnoides · I. arctosepala · I. arcuata · I. arguta · I. arguta 'Alba' · I. armeniaca · I. arnottiana · I. arnottii · I. arriensii · I. arriensii harmandii · I. Aruba = 'Kiruba' · I. arunensis · I. Ascia = 'Kiascia' · I. asperipes · I. asperipetala · I. assamensis · I. assurgens · I. atherosepala · I. atro-rubra · I. atrolineata · I. atrosanguinea · I. attopeuensis · I. aurantiaca · I. aurea · I. aureliana · I. aurella (Paleyellow Touch-Me-Not) · I. aurella f. badia · I. aurella f. coccinea · I. aureo-kermesina · I. auricoma · I. auricoma 'African Queen' · I. auricoma 'Blondie' · I. auricoma 'Jungle Gold' (Impatiens) · I. auricoma × bicaudata

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Yilin Chen, Shinobu Akiyama & Hideaki Ohba "Balsaminaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 12 Page 43. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Impatiens". in Flora of China Vol. 12 Page 43. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. Cheek, M. & Cable, S. 2000. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 19, 2008. [back]
Last Revised: 2009-07-03