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Impatiens (From impatiens impatient)
(from impatiens, impatient; referring to the elasticity of the valves of the seed-pod, which discharge the seeds when ripe). Balsam. SYN. Balsamina. ORD. Geraniaceae. A genus comprising about 135 species of stove, greenhouse, or hardy, annual or biennial herbs, sometimes suffrutescent, natives, for the most part, of the mountains of tropical Asia and Africa, rare in Europe, North America, North Asia, and South Africa. Flowers purple, yellow, pink, or white, often showy; peduncles axillary; petals four, cruciate; two outer ones alternating with the sepals, upper one arched and emarginate, lower one drawn out into a spur at the base; branches many-flowered. Leaves alternate, very rarely opposite. Comparatively few of the species are now in cultivation. The hardy annual kinds may be readily raised from seed, in spring, and they succeed in any ordinary light soil. The stove and greenhouse species may be propagated from cuttings; or from seeds, when these are to be obtained. Cuttings generally root freely in a close frame. I. Sultani is one of the most beautiful and easily grown plants in cultivation. It succeeds well in a greenhouse throughout the summer, but requires an intermediate or warm structure in winter. If cuttings are taken from strong, healthy shoots, they root quickly in a propagating frame, at almost any season. They are best inserted singly in small pots, and afterwards kept somewhat restricted at the root, by only allowing very moderate shifts. Useful decorative plants may be grown in 5in. or 6in. pots, and they usually succeed better in these than in larger sizes. A rich, open soil should be used. This species is comparatively new, and has been recommended for summer bedding outside; but it has hitherto been tried without much success. I. flaccida alba is very useful; it succeeds under the same treatment as I. Sultani. I. Jerdoniae is a dwarf species, and requires special treatment. It should be placed in a basket, about April, in a compost of peat and loam, and be suspended in a moist stove until beginning to flower, when a cooler and drier position will be more suitable. Towards November, the leaves will drop, and the stems become swollen, thus indicating their ripening off. The plants should then be removed, and suspended near the glass in a house where there is a temperature of about 55deg., and a rather dry atmosphere maintained. Here they should be allowed to remain quite dormant, until starting time in April, the following year.
I. amphorata (pitcher-like).* fl. pale purple, suffused and speckled with rose-red, 1 1/2in. long; sepals greenish, broadly orbicular-cordate, acute; standard orbicular, notched at top, spurred behind; lip cylindri-saccate, tip rounded with a short red incurved spur 2/3in. long; lateral lobe rounded, terminal, pendulous, obtuse; racemes 2in. to 5in. long, many-flowered August and September. l. bright green, often with pink edges and midrib, 3in. to 6in. long, petioled, elliptic-ovate or lanceolate, acuminate, finely crenate-serrate. Stem succulent, branched up wards. h. 3ft. to 6ft. Western Himalayas. A handsome hardy annual. (B. M. 6550.) I. Balsamina (Balsam).* Common Balsam. fl. red; pedicels aggregate. Summer. l. lanceolate, serrated; lower ones opposite. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Tropical Asia, 1596. A well-known annual. SYN. Balsamina hortensis. For general cultivation, see Balsam.
I. B. coccinea (scarlet). fl. red; spur incurved, as long as the flower. June to September. l. alternate, oblong-oval, serrated; leafstalks with many glands. h. 2ft. East Indies, 1808. Stove annual. (B. M. 1256.) I. bicolor (two-coloured). fl., lateral sepals green, small; vexillum white, green at back, very convex; labellum purple, ample, with a long, curved, obtuse tail; mouth pure white; pedicels slender, glabrous, about 2in. long, generally aggregate. December. l. alternate, glabrous, 3in. to 5in. or more long, elliptic-ovate, acuminate, attenuated towards the base, coarsely serrated. Stem purplish-green, woody at base, herbaceous above. Fernando Po, 1862. Stove perennial. (B. M. 5366.) I. candida (white). fl. white, slightly speckled with crimson, large, showy. Autumn. l. narrow-lanceolate, acuminate, with crimson serration, in whorls of three. h. 6ft. Himalayas, 1839. Hardy annual. (B. R. 1841, 20.) I. chinensis (Chinese). fl. red; peduncles axillary, solitary or twin; spur long, filiform. July and August. l. opposite, sessile, lanceolate, setaceously serrated. h. 2ft. India, 1840. Greenhouse annual. SYN. I. setacea. (B. M. 4631, under name of I. fasciculata.) I. cornigera (horn-bearing). A synonym of I. glandulifera. I. flaccida (flaccid).* fl. rich purple, flat, about 2in. long. Summer. l. dark shining green, about 4in. long. Mountains of Malabar, Ceylon, &c., 1861. h. 6in. to 18in. Greenhouse annual. (B. M. 5276.) A pale purple-flowered form of this is figured in B. M. 5625, under name of I. latifolia. I. f. alba (white) differs from the typical species only in having pure white flowers. Greenhouse annual. This form is frequently met with in gardens under the names of I. sultani alba and I. platypetala alba. I. fulva (tawny). fl. orange-colour, thickly spotted with reddish-brown, loosely panicled at the ends of the branches, hanging gracefully on their slender nodding stalks, the open mouth of the horn-shaped sepal upward; sac longer than broad, acutely conical, tapering into a strongly-inflexed spur. June to September. l. ovate or oval, coarsely toothed, petioled. h. 2ft. to 4ft. North America, but naturalised within the last half century in Britain, and spreading rapidly. Hardy annual. (Sy. En. B. 314.) I. glandulifera (gland-bearing). fl. rose, axillary, fascicled and shortly pedicelled; spur short, minute. August. l. whorled, lanceolate, glandularly serrate; stipules glandular. Ceylon, 1839. Greenhouse annual. (B. M. 4623, under name of I. cornigera.) I. Hookeriana (Hooker's).* fl. white, streaked with crimson, large; petals broad. Winter. l. large, pale green. h. 2 1/2ft. Ceylon, 1852. Stove perennial. (B. M. 4704.) I. Jerdoniae (Mrs. Jerdon's).* fl. large, axillary, six to eight in a cluster; sepals green, side ones bright yellow; pouch bright red. Summer. l. oval, disposed on the upper part of the gouty stems. h. 9in. East Indies, 1852. A rare but distinct and ornamental stove annual. (B. M. 4739.) I. macrophylla (large-leaved). fl. yellow, red; peduncles one-flowered, aggregated; spur short. July and August. l. large, alternate, ovate-acuminate, mucronate, serrate. h. 3ft. Mountains of Ceylon, 1838. Stove perennial. (B. M. 4662.) I. noli-me-tangere. Touch-me-not. fl. yellow, spotted internally with red, large; peduncles three or four-flowered. July. l. ovate, coarsely toothed. h. 1ft. to 1 1/2ft. Europe (Britain), Siberia, and West Asia. Hardy annual. (Sy. En. B. 313.) I. Pallida (pale). fl. pale yellow, sparingly dotted with brownish-red; sac dilated, and very obtuse, broader than long, tipped with a short incurved spur. July to September. l. ovate or oval, coarsely toothed, petioled. North America. Hardy annual.
I. platypetala (broad-petaled). fl. rose; petals transversely obcordate: peduncles one-flowered, shorter than the leaves; spur filiform, falcate. Summer. l. whorled, oblong-lanceolate, argutely serrated. h. 1 1/2ft. Java, 1844. Stove annual. (B. R. xxxii. 68.) I. p. alba (white). A garden name for I. flaccida alba. I. pulcherrima (fairest). fl. red; peduncles two or three, axillary, one-flowered; spur filiform. July. l. alternate, ovate, setaceously serrated, glaucous beneath. h. 6ft. Bombay, 1848. Greenhouse annual. (B. M. 4615.) I. repens (creeping). fl. bright yellow, large. Summer. l. small, very dark green. h. 1 1/2ft. Ceylon, 1848. A compact-growing stove biennial, making an excellent basket plant. (B. M. 4404.) I. Roylei (Royle's).* fl. purple, many-umbelled or short-racemed; standard two-lobed; wings broad; lip succate, very obtuse; spur short; peduncles sub-terminal. August. l. usually opposite and whorled, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, sharply serrate. h. 10ft. India, 1839. Hardy annual. (B. M. 4020, and B. R. xxvi. 22, under name of I. glandulifera.) I. R. macrochila (large-lipped). fl. rose, terminal, umbellate. July and August. l. upper ones alternate, ovate-lanceolate, serrate; petioles glandular. h. 8ft. North India, 1838. Plant erect. Hardy annual. (B. R. 1840, 8.) I. R. moschata (musky). l. alternate and whorled, coarsely serrate, less glandular.
I. scabrida (scabrid). fl. yellow, with minute purple dots; peduncles two to six-flowered. July. l. lanceolate, cuspidately serrated, acuminated, pubescent. Stem purplish, slightly angular. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Himalaya, 1827. Hardy annual. SYN. I. tricornis. (B. M. 4051; B. R. 1840, 9.) I. setacea (bristly). A synonym of I. chinensis.
I. Sultani (Sultan of Zanzibar's).* fl. scarlet; petals quite flat; dorsal (or standard) obovate-orbicular, retuse, rather smaller than the others; lateral petals cleft to the base into obovate-cuneate equal flat lobes; lip drawn out into a long, slender, curved spur. l. ovate-lanceolate, acuminate. Zanzibar. A glabrous, erect-branched, rather succulent, stove perennial herb, and an almost continuous flowerer. (B. M. 6643.) I. S. alba (white). A garden name for I. flaccida alba. I. tricornis (three-horned). A synonym of I. scabrida. I. Walkeri (Walker's).* fl. scarlet (except two green outer sepals), 1 1/4in. to 1 1/2in. long; anterior sepal somewhat pitcher-shaped, elongated, contracted below the mouth, attenuated at the other extremity into a conical, subulate, incurved spur; peduncles erect; pedicels long, slender. Winter. l. deep green, penni-nerved, 3in. to 4in. long, petioled, scattered, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, tapering at base; margins serrated, and tipped with soft bristles. Stem deep purple, erect. h. 1ft. to 1 1/2ft. Ceylon. Stove perennial. (B. M. 5237.)