Impatiens walleriana Hook.f.

First published in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. 1: 302 (1868)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is SE. Kenya to S. Tropical Africa. It is a subshrub and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome. It is used to treat unspecified medicinal disorders, has environmental uses, as a medicine and for food.

Descriptions

Distribution
Biogeografic region: Amazonia, Andean, Caribbean. Elevation range: 200–2800 m a.s.l. Cultivated in Colombia. Naturalised in Colombia. Colombian departments: Amazonas, Antioquia, Bogotá DC, Boyacá, Caldas, Caquetá, Cesar, Chocó, Cundinamarca, Huila, Magdalena, Meta, Nariño, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Quindío, Risaralda, Santander, Tolima, Valle del Cauca.
Habit
Herb.
Ecology
Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: forest and woodland, savanna, shrubland, native grassland, artificial - terrestrial.
[UPFC]

The Useful Plants of Boyacá project

Ecology
Alt. 200 - 2800 m.
Distribution
Cultivated and naturalised in Colombia.
Morphology General Habit
Herb.
[UPB]

Balsaminaceae, C. Grey-Wilson. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1993

Morphology General Habit
Rather succulent perennial 30–70(–80) cm. tall; stems simple or branched, often forming flat-topped or rounded plants, glabrous, rarely slightly pubescent at the shoot apices, green or reddish-tinged, occasionally rooting at the lower nodes.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves spirally arranged; petiole (1–)3–6(–8) cm. long, with 1–3 extra-floral nectaries scattered along the length; lamina broadly elliptical or ovate to oblong-elliptical or oblong-ovate, (2.5–)4–13(–14) cm. long, (2–)2.5–5.5(–7.5) cm. broad, rather translucent (not always so!), often reddish tinged, the base cuneate, often abruptly so, rarely ± rounded, the apex acute, acuminate or somewhat cuspidate, glabrous; margin crenate or crenate-denticulate; lateral veins 5–8 pairs.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers in axillary racemes, usually 2–3(–5)-flowered, sometimes 1-flowered, but then ‘pedicel’ always with a bract near the middle, very variable in colour and size, orange, scarlet or crimson-red, pink, mauve, purplish, violet, or occasionally white, the sepals often whitish or greenish white.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Peduncles
Peduncle (2–)3.2–5(–6.5) cm. long, glabrous or somewhat pubescent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
Bracts usually at least 2, often more than the number of flowers, linear-lanceolate or subulate, 3–6 mm. long, acute.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pedicel
Pedicels (10–)15–30(–33) mm. long, slender, usually glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Lateral sepals 2 (1 pair) ovate-lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, acute, 3–7 mm. long, glabrous. Lower sepal shallowly navicular,(8–)10–16 mm. long, abruptly constricted into a 28–45(–50) mm. long curved filiform spur, the tip usually slightly swollen, glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Dorsal petal broadly obcordate or obovate, 11–19 mm. long, 13–25 mm. broad, flattish or slightly cupped, dorsally with a narrow crest terminating in a short acute point. Lateral united petals 18–25 mm. long, the upper and lower petals almost equal in size and shape; upper petal obovate or obovate-spathulate, 12–23 mm. long, 9–18 mm. broad, entire or slightly emarginate; lower petal obovate or obovate-spathulate, sometimes rather asymmetrical, 14–20 mm. long, 7–14 mm. broad, entire or slightly emarginate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit fusiform, 15–20 mm. long, 4–6 mm. broad, glabrous.
Figures
Fig. 1/A, p. 2; 2/3, p. 4.
Habitat
In damp, often shaded, places in upland and coastal rain-forest, particularly in riverine thickets, gullies and damp rocky places; 0–2000 m.
Distribution
K7 P T2 T3 T6 Z
[FTEA]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Cultivada y naturalizada en Colombia; Alt. 200 - 2800 m.; Amazonia, Andes, Llanura del Caribe, Valle del Magdalena.
Morphology General Habit
Hierba
[CPLC]

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

Morphology General Habit
Juicy perennial herb, 30–50 (80) cm. high, usually branched to form a flat top; stems erect or straggling, succulent, thick, glabrous or rarely scattered-pilose, usually translucent, green or reddish, sometimes rooting at lower nodes.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves spirally arranged, very rarely apparently opposite, petiolate; lamina very variable in shape and size, (3) 4·5–10 (15) × (2) 2·5–5 (7·5) cm., broadly elliptic or ovate to elliptic-oblong or ovate-oblong, subsucculent, usually translucent, dark or pale green to reddish-green on both surfaces, glabrous on both surfaces or rarely scattered-pilose beneath (mainly on the nerves), apex acute, often acuminate or cuspidate, rarely obtuse, margin crenate-denticulate, often with tentacular hairs on the apex of the crenations towards the base, base usually narrowly (but sometimes broadly) cuneate or rarely rounded and usually with the lamina running down the petiole and thus forming a narrow wing; secondary nerves 7–12 pairs, not very prominent beneath; petiole (1) 2–4·5 (6·5) cm. long, succulent, usually glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers in few-flowered axillary and/or terminal racemes, rarely apparently 1-flowered by reduction (but then the “pedicel” always with a small bract about the middle), very variable in colour and size, dark carmine, wine-red, pink, orange, violet, rarely white; bracts up to 6 mm. long, lanceolate-triangular, acute; pedicel 1–2·5 (3) cm. long, slender, succulent, usually glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Lateral sepals (3) 4–7 × 2·25–3 mm. (in cultivated specimen sometimes slightly larger), ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate-triangular, acute, glabrous (always?), green; posterior sepal relatively small, up to 1·5 cm. long, c. 0·5 cm. deep, shallowly navicular, bluntish-keeled, abruptly constricted into the spur, distally sometimes subcaudate, usually acute or subobtuse; spur up to 4 cm. long, slender, slightly curved, usually with the end somewhat thickened, glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Anterior petal up to 12 mm. long, up to 18 mm. broad (when flattened), very broadly ovate or obcordate, with the apex usually retuse to emarginate, rarely acute, dorsally very narrowly cristate; lateral united petals very deeply 2-lobed (the lobes appearing nearly separate), with the lobes nearly equal in shape and size, 10–20 × 7–15 mm. (sometimes even larger), obliquely obovate, obovate-spathulate or obovate-cuneate, with the apex rounded or sub-truncate (see t. 26 fig. 25).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary usually glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule up to 18 mm. long, broadly oblique-fusiform, glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds numerous, c. 1·75 × 1·5 mm., pyriform, rusty or blackish, ± densely covered with short thick hairs on papillose bases.
[FZ]

Bernal, R., G. Galeano, A. Rodríguez, H. Sarmiento y M. Gutiérrez. 2017. Nombres Comunes de las Plantas de Colombia. http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/nombrescomunes/

Vernacular
alegría, amor ardiente, amor encarnado, bellahelena, besito, besito de jardín, besito de monte, besitos, beso de antioqueño, beso de novia, besos, buenastardes, canutillo, caracucho, ojo de gato, pensamiento, primavera, princesa, violeta
[UNAL]

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: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Uses

Use Environmental
Environmental uses.
Use Food
Used for food.
Use Medicines
Medical uses.
[UPFC]

Use Medicines Unspecified Medicinal Disorders
Medicinal (State of the World's Plants 2016).
[UPB]

Common Names

English
Busy Lizzie

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
  • 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
  • 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 Living Collection Database

    • Common Names from Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com/
  • 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
  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images
  • Universidad Nacional de Colombia

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
  • Useful Plants of Boyacá Project

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0