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Impatiens hawkeri

W. Bull

New Guinea impatiens

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(c) David Gil, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by David Gil

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(c) AnnLazaro, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by AnnLazaro

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

(c) f-delgado, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Impatiens hawkeri, the New Guinea impatiens, is a species of flowering plant in the family Balsaminaceae. It is native to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It has been bred and hybridized in cultivation to produce a line of garden plants.

Description

A herb that keeps growing from year to year. It can be erect or lie along the ground. It can grow 50-100 cm tall. This plant varies a lot,

This description is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The whole plant is cooked and eaten by children with stomach-ache. Combined with the leaves of Plectranthus scutellarioides, the leaves are rubbed on the stomach of pregnant women to help relieve labour pains.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant.

Where It Grows

Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Solomon Islands,

Cultivation

Requires some protection from the hottest sun. Prefers a deep, cool, moist, humus-rich soil. Plants can flower and produce seed all year round. A very variable species: in addition to the numerous cultivars, 15 groups are recognized in the wild forms, which are differentiated mainly by geographical region, flower colour and leaf-form.

References (1)

  • World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

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