| Impatiens | |
|---|---|
| |
| Impatiens scapiflora at Silent Valley National Park, South India | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Balsaminaceae |
| Genus: | Impatiens L. |
| Species | |
|
Over 1,000; see list of Impatiens species | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Impatiens /ɪmˈpeɪʃəns/[2] is a genus of more than 1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the tropics. Together with the genus Hydrocera (one species), Impatiens make up the family Balsaminaceae.
Common names in North America include impatiens, jewelweed, touch-me-not, snapweed and patience. As a rule-of-thumb, "jewelweed" is used exclusively for Nearctic species, and balsam is usually applied to tropical species. In the British Isles by far the most common names are impatiens and busy lizzie, especially for the many varieties, hybrids and cultivars involving Impatiens walleriana.[3] "Busy lizzie" is also found in the American literature. Impatiens glandulifera is commonly called policeman's helmet in the UK, where it is an introduced species.[4]
- ^ "Impatiens Riv. ex L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
- ^ RHS A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
- ^ "Invasive flower, policeman's helmet, beautiful, but blacklisted". Science Daily. Retrieved 17 September 2018.