Impatiens siculifer var. siculifer

Smets, E. F. & Janssens, S. B., 2018, Balsaminaceae of Myanmar, Blumea 63 (3), pp. 199-267 : 223-224

– Petals yellow....................... a. var. siculifer – Petals purple..................... b. var. porphyrea a. var. siculifer — Map 8; Plate 2b

Impatiens siculifer var. siculifer Hook.f. in Chen et al. (2007) 68.

Herb 80–100 cm tall. Stem slightly winged on the upper part, pale green, glabrous to remotely pilose with some glandular hairs on the upper part. Petiole 5–10 mm long, 1–1.5 mm diam, with stipular wings with 3–many glands on each side of petiole base. Lamina 50–80 by 15–25 mm, elliptic to oblanceolate, apex acute, base cuneate, with 1–3 linear stipular glands on each side along the midrib near the lamina base; lateral veins 7–9 pairs. Inflorescence subterminal, 7- or 8-flowered. Peduncle 20–30 mm long, pale green. Rachis 5–7 mm long, <1 mm diam. Flowers 25 mm long, 20 mm deep, yellow with a red spur. Bracts 3–4 by 2 mm, ovate, green, persistent to caducous in fruiting stage. Pedicel 13–15 mm long, <1 mm diam, green. Lateral sepals 5–6 by 1 mm, linear-falcate, apex acute and mucronate, base cuneate, yellow. Lower sepal c. 10 mm long, 7–10 mm deep apex aristate with long awns, up to 5 mm, yellow with green awns; spur 15–18 mm long, red. Dorsal petal c. 8 by 7 mm, elliptic, strongly reflexed backward, apex obtuse, base obtuse, green. Lateral united petals 19–21 mm long, the left upper petal c. 10 by 5 mm, triangular to broadly lanceolate, apex acute, yellow; the right upper petal c. 8 by 5 mm, obliquely triangular to broadly lanceolate, apex acute; the left lower petal c. 15 by 1 mm, base slightly auricled, c. 1 mm high, yellow; the right lower petal c. 13 by 1 mm, base slightly spiral, c. 1 mm high, yellow, glabrous. Stamens: filaments c. 4 mm long. Ovary 3–4 mm long, c. 1 mm diam. Fruits c. 19 mm long, 3 mm diam: fruiting pedicel up to 20 mm long, straight. Seeds unknown.

Phenology — Flowering: June to October; fruiting: October to November.

Plate 2 a. Impatiens racemosa DC. ; b. Impatiens siculifer var. siculifer Hook.f. ; c. Impatiens drepanophora Hook.f. ; d. Impatiens holocentra Hand.-Mazz. ; e. Impatiens arguta Hook.f. & Thomson ; f. Impatiens ecalcarata Collett & Hemsl. ; g. Impatiens masonii Hook.f. ; h. Impatiens chinensis L. — Photos by: a, c–h. Saroj Ruchisansakun; b. Saw-Lwin.

Distribution — Myanmar (Kachin State), India (Arunachal Pradesh, Lohit district) ( Gogoi & Borah 2013), China (Fujian, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan) ( Chen et al. 2007).

Ecology — Growing among grasses in shady areas of evergreen forest, c. 1500 m altitude.

Other collections examined. CHINA, Yunnan Province, Henry 10038 A

(syn K K000694601); Henry 10038 B (syn B B100365130, K K000694602, K K000694603,PE PE00039613*), Mengtze,alt. 5000 ft. — MYANMAR, Kachin State, Saw­Lwin KSL1072 (L sheet 1, 2, 3; RAF), 24 Oct. 2015 ; Jin et al. PT­ ET 520 (PE PE2472706*,PE PE2472706*),Putao,Ziyadam to Chaungsone Camp, N27°34' E97°18', alt. 850–1050 m, 14 Oct. 2016.

Note — Impatiens siculifer is a confusing species. In the protologue, Hooker cited the specimens Henry 10030 A, B (K) and Bodinier 2335 (P). We select Bodinier 2335 (P00780759) as the lectotype because it contains well-dissected flowers and a clear illustration. In addition, we did not find specimen Henry 10030 A, B (K), but we found Henry 10038 A, B (K), with Hooker’s hand drawing and annotation as I. siculifer . We think it likely that the discrepancy is caused by a typographical error in the protologue and therefore regard specimens Henry 10038A (K) and Henry 10038B (K) to be syntypes.