Impatiens (redirected from Impatiens Noli-me-tangere)

impatiens (ĭmpā`shēĕnz'): see jewelweed.

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impatiens

Any of about 900 species of herbaceous plants in the genus Impatiens (balsam family), so named because the seedpod bursts when slightly touched. Garden balsam (I. balsamina), native to the tropics of Asia, is a favourite showy annual in U.S. gardens; its flowers are irregular, single or clustered, and of almost every colour but blue. Familiar related weeds in eastern North America are spotted jewelweed (I. biflora or I. capensis) and pale touch-me-not. Most impatiens have weak, hollow stems and require high moisture. Close relatives are geraniums and nasturtiums.

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Impatiens 

a genus of primarily herbaceous plants of the family Balsaminaceae. The stems are succulent and often transparent. The leaves are usually alternate, simple, and exstipulate. The perianth is double, and the calyx has a petal-like spur. The fruit is generally a succulent capsule, which bursts when ripe, even upon the slightest touch or vibration; the valves twist spirally from bottom to top and the seeds are expelled and scattered.

There are approximately 400 species of Impatiens (according to some data, as many as 700), growing primarily in tropical Asia and Africa; a few species are found in Europe and America. There are eight species in the USSR, the most common being touch-me-not (Impatiens noli-tangere). Touch-me-not has large yellow flowers and grows in shady forests, among shrubs, along ravines, near springs, and in orchards. Some species, particularly garden balsam (I. balsamina), are cultivated as ornamentals.