''Impatiens walleriana'' ( syn. ''Impatiens sultanii''), also known as busy Lizzie (British Isles), balsam, sultana, or simply impatiens, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

'' Impatiens'',

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to eastern Africa from Kenya to Mozambique. The Latin specific epithet ''walleriana'' honours a British missionary, Horace Waller (1833–1896).

Description

It is a flowering herbaceous

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

growing to tall, with broad

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

leaves 3–12 cm long and 2–5 cm broad. Leaves are mostly

alternate Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

, although they may be opposite near the top of the plant. The changeable, simple leaves are stalked 1.5 to 6 cm long. The leaf blade is

ovate Ovate may refer to: * Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe *Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd *Vates In modern English, the nouns vates () and ova ...

to broadly elliptic, sometimes obovate, 2.5 to 13 inches long and 2 to 5.5 inches wide, green and sometimes spotted or pink or reddish on the underside. Leaflets are missing. The hermaphroditic,

zygomorphic Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts. Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spirall ...

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are profusely borne, 2–5 cm diameter, with five petals and a 1 cm spur. The seedpod explodes when ripe in the same manner as other ''Impatiens'' species, an evolutionary adaptation for

seed dispersal In Spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors ...

. The lower sepals are slightly boat-shaped and narrow suddenly in the 2.8 to 4.5 inches long, thread-like curved, but not curved back spur. The stems are semi-succulent, and all parts of the plant (leaves, stems, flowers, roots) are soft and easily damaged.

Cultivation

Although perennial in frost-free growing conditions, it is usually treated as a half-hardy

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year ** Yearbook ** Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

regions (though pot-grown plants can be successfully overwintered indoors). It is one of the most popular of all bedding plants for parks and gardens worldwide, typically grown in containers but also in

bedding Bedding, also known as bedclothes or bed linen, is the materials laid above the mattress of a bed for hygiene, warmth, protection of the mattress, and decorative effect. Bedding is the removable and washable portion of a human sleeping environm ...

schemes.

Propagation Propagation can refer to: * Chain propagation in a chemical reaction mechanism *Crack propagation, the growth of a crack during the fracture of materials * Propaganda, non-objective information used to further an agenda * Reproduction, and other fo ...

is by seed or stem cuttings (which often root readily in water).

Cultivars

Numerous

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s in a range of colours from white to purple, are widely available commercially, either as seeds or young plants. They include the following: *Accent series *'Blackberry Ice' *'Confection' *'Eclipse' *'Elfin White' *'Extra Dwarf' *'Fiesta Ole' (

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

variety) *'Lipstick' *'Red Star' *Super Elfin series *Tempo Series *'Wink and Blink' Super Elfin series was bred by Claude Hope in Costa Rica. Hope developed this species from its native wild form into one of the most popular bedding plants in the world.

AGM cultivars

The following cultivars have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

’s Award of Garden Merit:- ;Divine Series * ;Magnum Series * ;SunHarmony Series * = 'Dhar328' ;SunPatiens Series * = 'Sakimp013' * = 'Sakimp025' * = ‘Sakimp011’ * = ‘Sakimp005’ * = ‘Sakimp018’

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q654064 Afromontane flora walleriana Flora of Kenya Flora of Malawi Flora of Mozambique Flora of Tanzania Flora of Zimbabwe Garden plants of Africa