Impatiens

Touch-me-not, Jewel-Weed, Balsam

Created by Julia Poole

E-Mail Address: JEP@arches.uga.edu


Photo courtesy of The University of Georgia Herbarium

Higher Taxon:

Family: Balsaminaceae more information

Description: Godfrey and Wooten characterize the genus Impatiens as "succulent annual herbs. Stems hollow, leaves alternate, simple. Flowers bisexual, pendent, in stalked clusters in the leaf axils. Calyx petaloid, of three sepals, the two upper small, the lower one seccate, open in front, spurred below. Corolla of apparently three petals (actually five), the upper often broader than long, each of the two lateral ones two-lobed and considered as one. Stamens five, with short flat filaments, the anthers more or less united about the stigma. Pistil one, the ovary superior, five-loculed, style very short or wanting. Friut a fleshy, five-valved capsule, explosively dehiscing, the valves coiling elastically, forcibally distributing the seeds." (Godfrey and Wooten 1981)

Species List: "The genus Impatiens has 420 identified species that are widely distributed throughout the world. The Impatiens are abundant in the tropics of Asia and Africa. In the Western World, Impatiens are absent from South America. There are only two of the 420 species that are indigenous to the United States, both of which are in the eastern half." (Lawrence 1951)

Identification Guide: The two species of Impatiens located in the Unites States are very similar plants. The detailed description taken from Aquatic and Wetland Plants of the Southeastern United States as detailed above is an ample guide for identifing the Impatiens shoots. The only difference between Impatiens capensis and Impatiens pallida is the color of their flowers. Impatiens capensis or Spotted Touch-Me-Not boasts "spotted, orange to reddish flowers which are bent parallel with the sac", while Impatiens pallida or Pale Touch-Me-Not displays "pale yellow flowers which are bent at right angles to the sac". (Godfrey and Wooten 1981)

General Information:When submersed in water, Jewel-Weed leaves will change color from bright green to a silvery hue. Jewel-Weed leaves are also known to have a soothing effect when applied to a posion ivy rash. "Economically the members of the family [Balsaminaceae] are of little importance. Several species of Impatiens are cultivated domestically as ornamentals." (Lawrence 1951)

References:

  1. Godfrey, Robert K. & Wooten, Jean W. 1981. Aquatic and Wetland Plants of the Southeastern United States. The University of Georgia Press. Athens, Georgia.

  2. Lawrence, George H.M., 1951. Taxonomy of Vascular Plants. The Macmillian Company. New York, New York.