Balsaminaceae
Impatiens

Impatiens shirensis Baker f.

First published in Trans. Linn. Soc. London, Bot. 4: 7 (1894)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Malawi (Mt. Mulanje). It is a shrub and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Balsaminaceae, E. Launert. Flora Zambesiaca 2:1. 1963

Morphology General Habit
Much-branched dense straggling shrub, up to 2 m. high or more; young shoots often zigzag, bright red, finely pilose or glabrous, succulent, with swollen nodes; older shoots brownish, glabrous.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves spirally arranged, petiolate; lamina (4) 5–9 (12) × 1·5–3 (4·5) cm., usually lanceolate, rarely broadly lanceolate to elliptic, sparsely pilose or glabrous when young, usually glabrous when older, pale green with marginal teeth often red, apex acute and often acuminate, margin crenulate-denticulate or serrate, base cuneate; secondary nerves more than 12 pairs; petiole 1–2·5 (3) cm. long, slender, subcanaliculate, glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers in axillary few-flowered fascicles, white or pinkish-white, with 2 orange spots inside the lateral petals, the posterior sepal with red markings and the spur usually purple, fragrant; bracts up to 5 × 1 mm., triangular or subulate, acute; pedicels (1) 1·5–2·5 (3) cm. long, slender, finely pilose or glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Lateral sepals up to 6 × 3 mm., ovate-oblong, often cuspidate, usually glabrous; posterior sepal 11–15 × 3–4·5 mm. (excluding the spur), broadly navicular, abruptly constricted into the spur, distally acute or subcaudate, usually glabrous; spur up to 6 mm. long, straight or slightly incurved or often only somewhat bent inwards in the lower half, cylindric or subconical with the end slightly thickened.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Anterior petal up to 1·5–2 cm. long (when flattened), helmet-shaped, dorsally with a small crest, apically mucronulate, glabrous; lateral united petals 1·6–2·4 cm. long, deeply 2-lobed; anterior lobe 10–13 × 4–6 mm., broadly ovate to transversely semi-elliptic; posterior lobe c. 1/2–2/3 the size of the anterior one, ovate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule c. 2 cm. long, fusiform, glabrous or very rarely sparsely pilose.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds numerous, c. 2·75 × 1·8 mm., ovate in outline, bright reddish-brown, smooth and glabrous.
[FZ]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0