| English Name | Hong Kong Balsam |
|---|---|
| Status in China | Endangered (EN) |
Description:
Perennial herb to 60 cm tall, glabrous. Leaves alternate, elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, 8-11.5 cm long, 2.5-5.5 cm wide, base cuneate, apex acuminate, margin very shallowly crenate. Petioles 0.8-2.7 cm long. Racemes loose, 4-7-flowered; peduncle 3.7-6.6 cm long; pedicels slender, 2.1-3.4 cm long. Flowers pale yellow, with red or reddish-purple blotches at throat; lower sepal saccate, 1.7-2.4 cm long, base abruptly constricted into an incurved, 1.5-2 cm long spur; dorsal petal semi-cucullate, broadly ovate or semi-orbicular, 1-1.3 cm long, 1.2-1.4 cm wide, with a shallow crest on dorsal surface; lateral united petals 2.7-3 cm long, the upper petal of each pair about one-third the size of the lower; upper petal oblong-obovate, c. 0.9 cm long, 0.45 cm wide, lower petal obovate-spathulate, 1.8-2.1 cm long, 0.9-1.2 cm wide. Fruit clavate, c. 1.5 cm long, 0.4 cm wide.
Distribution:
Tai Po Kau, Ng Tung Chai, Yuen Tun Ha; Guangdong(Shenzhen).
Habitat and Ecology:
On wet places by streamsides and in ravines, alt. 150-210m.
The large yellow flowers make the plant an attractive ornamental. The species, first discovered at Tai Po in 1925 and described as a new species in 1979, is of special botanical interests. Its distribution area and population size are small; in Hong Kong, most localities of its occurrence are within Country Parks and Special Areas under protection. The species has been listed under the Forestry Regulations (Cap. 96 sub. leg.).
References:
Grey-Wilson, C., 1979: A new species of Impatiens (Balsamiaceae) from Hong Kong. Kew Bull. 33(4): 551-553.
陳藝林，2001：中國植物誌47（2）：42。科學出版社，北京。
