Impatiens pulchra var. burmanica

Smets, E. F. & Janssens, S. B., 2018, Balsaminaceae of Myanmar, Blumea 63 (3), pp. 199-267 : 257

– Distal part of spur straight and incurved, not annular.................................... b. var. burmanica a. var. pulchra — Map 22; Plate 4g

Impatiens pulchra var. β Hook.f.& Thomson (1860) 139. — Type: Hooker 94 (lecto, designated here K K000694757; isolecto K K000694758), Nepal, Moyong valley, 4000–5000 ft, Oct. 1831 .

Impatiens annulifera Hook.f. (1905) 27; Vivek. et al. (1997) 109, 119, syn. nov. — Type: Meebold 6714 (lecto,designated here K K000694759), India, Manipur (Myring), Naga Hills , Dec. 1907.

Impatiens mengtszeana Hook.f. (1908) 240, 256; Craib (1911) 25; Y.L. Chen et al. (2007) 50, 92. — Impatiens mengtzeana Hook.f. (1911a) 613; Craib (1926b) 211, syn. nov. — Type: Henry 11208 (lecto, designated in Verma et al. (2016) K K000199721; isolecto NY NY406461*), China, Yunnan, Leng-chan-ten, alt. 7000 ft

Herb, 15–60 cm tall. Stem erect to decumbent below, 5–9 mm diam, unbranched to rarely branched, shallowly terete to cylindrical, green, glabrous to slightly scabrous. Leaves spirally arranged. Petiole 2–50 mm long, 3–3.6 mm diam flat, glabrous. Lamina 40–150 by 15–45 mm, narrowly elliptic to narrowly oblanceolate to oblanceolate to obovate to elliptic, apex acute to acuminate, base cuneate to attenuate, margin serrate to crenate, coriaceous, dark green above, glaucous beneath, sometimes pilose in young leaves, sometimes with 1 or 2 pair(s) of linear glands near lamina base; lateral veins 5–8 pairs. Inflorescence 1- or 2-flowered. Peduncle 20–60 mm long, reddish green. Rachis 1–6 mm long. Flowers 25–50 by 22–25 mm, 25–40 mm deep, creamy to yellow to orange with darker shade at dorsal petal and upper lateral united petals base. Bracts 3–7 by 1.5–2 mm, green to red, glabrous. Pedicel 10–25 mm long, purple. Lateral sepals 5–13 by 5–9 mm, ovate to orbicular to elliptic, base obtuse to truncate, green, glabrous. Lower sepal 17–23 by 10–12 mm, 12–20 mm deep, orange to pale orange with brown reticulations; spur incurved with spiral

Map 22 Distribution of Impatiens pulchra var. pulchra Hook.f. (●) and I. pulchra var. burmanica (Hook.f.) Ruchis. & Suksathan (●).

end, 15–35 mm long. Dorsal petal 15–18 by 10–18 mm, ovate to elliptic to orbicular, apex truncate, base obtuse to truncate, creamy to orange with dark orange at centre, abaxial midvein with a crest, 1–3 mm high, green. Lateral united petals 25–40 mm long: the upper petals 10–17 by 8–15 mm, orbicular to broadly oblanceolate, apex truncate, creamy to orange with dark orange at the base; the lower petals 15–23 by 8–15 mm, ovate to oblong to elliptic, base with round yellow auricle, 2–3 mm high, creamy to orange, glabrous. Stamens: filaments 6–9 mm long, green. Ovary 5–7 mm long, 1–1.5 mm diam, 5-carpellate, green. Fruits 20–22 mm long, 4–6 mm diam. Seeds 30–35.

Phenology — Flowering: August to December; fruiting: October to January.

Distribution — Myanmar (Chin State, Kachin State, Shan State), China (Yunnan), India (Mizoram State, Nagaland State, Sikkim State), Nepal (Kosi Zone), Thailand (Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lampang).

Ecology — Growing in swamps or on organic matter on rocks near waterfalls.

Other collections examined. CHINA, W. Hancock 56 (syn K K000694575), Mont. Mengtsze, alt. 6000 ft; Henry 12536B (syn K K000199722), Henry 12536C (CAL not seen, K K000199726), Henry 12356D (CAL not seen, K K000199727), Szemao mountains .– MYANMAR, Chin State, Clarke 41147A (K), Keywiwa, Naga Hills , 26 Dec. 1885 ; Tanaka et al. 031034 ( MBK K0086117 ), Natma Taung (Mt Victoria) National Park, along the roadside near the Kanpetlet guest house,alt.1680– 1315 m, 22 May 2004 ; Ling Shing Maung & Cho Cho Win 024326 ( QBG QBG61250 ), Mt Victoria, Natmataung National Park, Western Myanmar , 17 Sept.2002 ; Kingdon­Ward 22664 (BM), Erakan, Mt Victoria ,alt. 6000 ft, 6 Sept.1956 ; U Mg Gale­2 5765 ( RAF8272 /2 3 sheets), Kanpetlet Dist., Esaken , alt. 5700 ft, Sept. 1956 ; Ling Shein Man et al. 087427 ( QBG QBG61272 ), Kanpetlet Township, Ma Kyauk Ah Village area , alt. c. 4800 ft, 24 June 2011 .

Notes — Impatiens pulchra var. pulchra is easily recognisable by its large yellow to orange flowers, which have a spur with a spiral distal part. The leaves are variable in shape. Hooker & Thomson (1860) separated I. pulchra with elliptic to narrowly lanceolate leaves and I. pulchra var. β with broadly elliptic to ovate-lanceolate leaves, but we did not find this a sufficient basis for taxonomic recognition.

There are at least three sheets of syntypes of I. pulchra . We select Hooker & Thomson 93 (K000694754) because it has more flowers and is in better condition than the other two sheets. For I. pulchra var. β, we found two syntypes and we select Hooker 94 (K000694757) as lectotype because it has a completely dissected flower that shows all floral details.

Impatiens mengtszeana is synonymized under I. pulchra because we did not find any difference between them. Moreover, it is similar to the watercolour illustrations in the Kew Herbarium (Fig. 20, 21), annotated by Hooker as I. pulchra .