Sunday 7 December 2008

Impatiens sodenii


Impatiens sodenii Engl. & Warb. ex. Engl (1894)
Balsaminaceae

Synonyms
Impatiens thomsonii Oliv.
Impatiens uguenensis Warb.
Impatiens oliveri C.H. Wright ex. Wats.
Impatiens elgonensis T.C.E. Fries
Impatiens magnifica G.M. Schulze
From Kenya, N&E Tanzania. Grows in damp shaded or rather exposed places in upland rain forests, gullies, cliff ledges or amongst granite boulders. 1000-2700m.Drought resistant to a certain extent due to thick fleshy stems. Exposed plants will grow in a squat form.
(C. Grey-Wilson, Impatiens of Africa)
First cultivated at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew from seed collected at the Lykipia-Uganda Railway, Uganda (Bot Mag. type t.7960-1904) by Sir John Kirk in 1903. The original plants were growing at an altitude of nearly 2500m. He suggested the name Impatiens oliveri after their discoverer.

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