Common Name: TOUCH-ME-NOT or BALSAM FAMILY Habit: Annual, [perennial herb, subshrub, few epiphytes], glabrous [(hairy)]; roots fibrous [rhizomatous to tuberous]. Stem: watery to fleshy. Leaf: generally alternate, simple, petioled, toothed or entire, veins pinnate, +- arched. Inflorescence: cyme, umbel-like, terminal or axillary, 1--8-flowered. Flower: bisexual, bilateral, twisting 180°; sepals 3[5], free, upper becoming lower, generally with nectar spur [or spur 0]; petals 3 [5, free or] +- fused in 2s; stamens 5, filaments stout, forming column around pistil, +- united at tip, shed at base, anthers united into cap over stigma; ovary 1, superior, generally 5-chambered, stigmas 1--5. Fruit: capsule, explosive [or berry-like drupe]. Genera In Family: 2 genera, +- 850 species: tropics, warm temperate; some ornamental. eFlora Treatment Author: Peter F. Zika Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti.
Common Name: TOUCH-ME-NOT, JEWELWEED Stem: lower generally with adventitious roots. Leaf: alternate, opposite, or whorled; stipules 0 or gland-like. Flower: variously spotted or lined; sepals 3, lateral 2 greatly reduced, +- green, lower with nectar spur, not green; petals apparently 3, lateral 2 forming a lip, upper 1 a banner over mouth of tube. Fruit: green. Seed: 1--7, green to black, ridged or papillate. Etymology: (Latin: impatient, from explosive fruit) Reference: Zika 2006 Novon 16:443--448 Unabridged Reference: Zika 2006 J Torrey Bot Soc 133:593--600; Zika, P. F. 2006. Impatiens ×pacifica (Balsaminaceae), a new hybrid jewelweed from the Pacific Northwest coast of North America. Novon 16: 443--448; Zika, P. F. 2006. The status of Impatiens capensis (Balsaminaceae) on the Pacific Northwest coast. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 133: 593--600.
Impatiens capensis Meerb.
WAIF Habit: Plant 3--23 dm. Leaf: alternate; stipules 0; blade 3--11 cm, lanceolate, ovate, or elliptic, acute, entire to coarse-crenate. Inflorescence: 2--11-flowered, axillary. Flower: yellow-orange (pink, cream), with dark red marks or not; spur +- recurved, < 10 mm, taper to spur abrupt, lateral sepals 4--7 mm; cleistogamous flowers 2--3 mm, green, on peduncles < 1 cm borne early or late season. Fruit: oblong. Chromosomes: 2n=20. Ecology: Disturbed, moist, often shaded sites, streambanks; Elevation: < 500 m. Bioregional Distribution: SnFrB; Distribution Outside California: northwestern Oregon to southwestern British Columbia, where invasive; native to eastern North America. Note: Probably introduced in California as ornamental; hybrids with Impatiens ecalcarata Blank. named Impatiens ×pacifica Zika. Synonyms: Impatiens noli-tangere L., misappl. Jepson eFlora Author: Peter F. Zika Reference: Zika 2006 Novon 16:443--448 Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Previous taxon: Impatiens balfourii Next taxon: Impatiens glandulifera
Citation for this treatment: Peter F. Zika 2012, Impatiens capensis, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=28956, accessed on April 19, 2024.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on April 19, 2024.
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(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurence).
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