Impatiens irvingii Hook. f.

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Photo: Bart Wursten
Lomami River just downstream from Yamfira

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Synonyms:	Impatiens kirkii Hook. f. ex Oliv. Impatiens kirkii Hook. f. ex Oliv. var. hypoleuca Welw. ex. Hiern Impatiens thonneri De Wild. & Dur.
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Description:	Perennial herb usually much branched with succulent, prostrate or ascending, rarely erect, stems up to 1·5 m long, red or green tinged with red, usually somewhat swollen at the nodes, hairless or variously hairy. Leaves spirally arranged, lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate, ovate-lanceolate, oblong-elliptic or rarely elliptic, 6–15 cm long, usually olive or dark green above, silvery or greyish-green beneath, hairless or variously hairy, particularly beneath; margin crenate-denticulate or rarely serrate and sometimes ciliate towards the base; subsessile or with petiole up to 3 cm long. Flowers axillary, solitary or in clusters of 2-3, pale purple, pink or violet; pedicels up to 9 cm long, slender. Lateral sepals lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, rarely oblong-lanceolate, 4-7 mm long, usually more or less densely hairy. Posterior sepal 9–14 mm long, c. 2·5 mm deep, shallowly and obliquely boat-shaped, abruptly constricted into the spur, usually more or less densely hairy; spur up to 5·5 cm long, rather slender, subconical in the upper half, cylindric in the lower one, more or less densely hairy, strongly incurved when young, often nearly straight when older. Anterior petal 8–15 mm high and up to 17 mm broad when flattened. Lateral united petals very variable in size, 13–25 mm long, deeply 2-lobed; lobes nearly always overlapping, usually hairless, rarely pubescent outside; anterior lobe obliquely semi-elliptic, semi-circular or rarely obovate 10–18 mm long, entire, with the lower margin usually more or less straight; posterior lobe usually somewhat smaller than the anterior one, usually obovate, rarely subcircular, entire. Capsule fusiform, up to 1·8 cm long, hairless.
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Flowering time:	Throughout the year
Worldwide distribution:	Widespread in tropical Africa as far South as Angola and northern Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique.
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Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Literature:	Grey-Wilson, C. (1980). Impatiens of Africa A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam Pages 111 - 113. (Includes a picture). Grey-Wilson, C. (1982). Balsaminaceae Flora of Tropical East Africa Pages 26 - 27. Launert, E. (1963). Balsaminaceae Flora Zambesiaca 2(1) Pages 179 - 180. Launert, E. & Gonçalves, M.L. (1969). 36. Balsaminaceae Flora de Moçambique Junta de Investigaçoes de Ultramar, Centro de Botanica Pages 20 - 21. Phiri, P.S.M. (2005). A Checklist of Zambian Vascular Plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 32 Page 35.

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Flora of the DRC: Impatiens irvingii
Flora of Malawi: Impatiens irvingii
Flora of Mozambique: Impatiens irvingii
Flora of Zambia: Impatiens irvingii

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Impatiens irvingii
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Impatiens irvingii
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Impatiens irvingii
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Impatiens irvingii
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Impatiens irvingii
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Impatiens irvingii
JSTOR Plant Science: Impatiens irvingii
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Impatiens irvingii
Plants of the World Online: Impatiens irvingii
Tropicos: Impatiens irvingii
Wikipedia: Impatiens irvingii