Common name: Balfour's touch-me-not, Poor Mans Orchid, Kashmir Balsam
Impatiens balfouri Hook.f. APNI* Description: Annual 45–100 cm high, glabrous.
Leaves mid green above and pale green below, elliptic-ovate to lanceolate, acuminate, alternate, regularly toothed, 4–10 cm long, 1.5–5 cm wide, with 8–13 pairs of lateral nerves, raphides present, base glandular-stipitate; petiole up to 55 mm long.
Flowers in subterminal racemes on peduncles up to 100 mm long. Flowers white, pink and yellow, 18–27 mm long; bracts c. 3 mm long; lateral sepals 2.5 mm long; spurred lower sepal 22–25 mm long, conical, tapering into a slender straight spur 10–15 mm long. Anterior petal 5.5–6 mm long, 10–13 mm wide; lateral united petals unequal, 20–25 mm long; lower one prolonged, larger than the upper petal, sometimes retuse.
Capsule broad- linear, 20–24 mm long, erect. Seeds 2.5–3 mm long, ovoid, up to 5 per pod.
Distribution and occurrence: Native NW. Himalayas, Kashmir; garden introduced near Katoomba
NSW subdivisions: *CT
Text by Louisa Murray
Taxon concept: Flora of Pakistan
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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