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Synonyms: Hydroceraceae Blume, nom. illeg.; Impatientaceae Barnhart
Common name: Touch-me-mot Family.
Number of genera 2. Number of species 850.
Angiosperm. Magnoliopsida.
Disseminule a dehisced fruit, or an intact or entire fruit, or a seed.
Fruits
Pistil(s) compound; 1; 1-pistillate; with carpels united. Fruit pericarpium; simple; drupe (Hydrocera), or capsule (Impatiens); loculicidal capsule (Impatiens); capsule not inflated; capsule without operculum; without persistent central column; not within accessory organ(s); Impatiens 3-carpellate, or 5-carpellate (Hydrocera); with carpels united; with carpels remaining united at maturity; without sterile carpels; in transection terete; apex not beaked; dehiscent (Impatiens), or indehiscent (Hydrocera). Dehiscent unit mesocarp(s) (Hydrocera), or seed(s) (Impatiens). Dehiscent regularly; actively; elastically and explosively; with valves coiling and twisting; at apex, or base; without replum. Epicarp green; dull; durable; without armature; without wing(s); without apical respiratory hole. Mesocarp present; fleshy; composed of 1 unified layer; without lactiform cavity system. Endocarp present; not separating from exocarp, or separating spontaneously from exocarp; thin, or bony (Hydrocera); splitting into 1-seeded pyrenes; without operculum; without secretory cavities; without longitudinal ridges. Funiculus short; short without seed bearing hooks (retinacula); not persisting in fruit after seed shed.
Seeds
Aril absent. Seed larger than minute; in transection compressed, or terete; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves, or without apparent food reserves (Hydrocera); with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; without fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer; surface unsmooth; surface with merged raised features, or discreet raised features; surface papillate; surface reticulate, or wrinkled, or rugose; without crease or line separating cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle; without notch along margin where cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle tip approach each other; without glands; without bristles; glabrous (Impatiens), or pubescent (Hydrocera); with hairs over surface; with short hairs; without glandular pubescence; without wings; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted; surrounding food reserve. Raphe conspicuous. Endosperm development cellular; scant (Impatiens).
Embryo differentiated from food reserve, or undifferentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; completely filling testa (no food reserve), or nearly filling testa (trace or scanty food reserve); 1 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; foliate; with spatulate cotyledons; straight, or bent (Hydrocera); without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; with cotyledons containing glycerides of acetic acid and parinaric acid; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons, or acotyledonous. Cotyledons 2; well developed; 0.5–0.9 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; 3 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle; massive; flat; smooth; equal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle moderately developed; straight, or curved (Hydrocera assumed); not thickened.
Distribution
Pantemperate. New World, Old World. North America, Africa, Oceania.
Weed information
1 or more USA state noxious weeds.
USA states and territories with listed noxious weeds: Connecticut (CT), Oregon (OR), Washington (WA).
USA state and territory noxious weeds: -- Impatiens glandulifera Royle: USA state noxious weed: CT●, OR●, WA●. -- Symbols: ªaquatic weed; ●terrestrial weed; °weed in seed. -- Last updated September 2008.
Listed seeds
ASOA listed seeds, ISTA listed seeds.
ASOA listed seeds: -- Impatiens balsamina L. -- Impatiens walleriana Hook. f. -- Last updated September 2008.
ISTA listed seeds: -- Impatiens balsamina L.f -- Impatiens holstii Engl. & Warb. = Impatiens walleriana Hook. f. -- Impatiens radiata Hook. f. -- Impatiens scabrida DC. -- Impatiens sultani Hook. f. = Impatiens walleriana Hook. f. -- Impatiens walleriana Hook. f.f -- Symbols: aagricultural and vegetable seeds (Table 2A Part 1); ttree and shrub species (Table 2A Part 2); fflower, spice, herb, and medicinal seeds (Table 2A Part 3); wweed seeds. -- Last updated September 2008.
Accepted genera
Hydrocera Blume ex Wight & Arn. -- Impatiens L.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 834.
General references
Baillon, H.E. 1866–95. Histoire des plantes, 13 vols. Hachette and Co., Paris, Corner, E.J.H. 1976. The seeds of Dicots, esp. vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, New York, Cronquist, A. 1981. An integrated system of classification of flowering plants, 1,262 p. Columbia University Press, New York, Engler, A. and K. Prantl. 1924 and onward. Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilimien. W. Engelman, Leipzig, Gaertner, J. 1788–1805. De fructibus et seminibus plantarum. The Author, Stuttgart, Goldberg, A. 1986 (dicots) and 1989 (monocots). Classification, evolution, and phylogeny of the familes of Dicotyledons. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 58 for dicots (314 pp.) and 71 for monocots (74 pp.). [Goldberg's illustrations are reproduced from older publications and these should be consulted], Gunn, C.R., J.H. Wiersema, C.A. Ritchie, and J.H. Kirkbride, Jr. 1992 and amendments. Families and genera of Spermatophytes recognized by the Agricultural Research Service. Techn. Bull. U.S.D.A. 1796:1–500, Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The plant-book, 706 p. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182.
Illustrations
Almost acceptable fruit and seed. Disseminule illustration(s): fruit, or seed, or embryo. Fruit illustration(s): Baillon, Gaertner, Cronquist. Seed illustration(s): Karen, Cronquist. Embryo illustration(s): Karen. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 268: Hydrocera angustifolia Blume (A-B), Impatiens (biflora) capensis Meerb. (C-D).
• Seed. 1 of 3. Impatiens glandulifera Royle: seeds. • Embryo. 2 of 3. Hydrocera triflora (L.) Wight & Arn.: embryo. • Embryo. 3 of 3. Impatiens capensis Meerb.: embryo.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘J.H. Kirkbride, Jr., C.R. Gunn, and M.J. Dallwitz. 2000 onwards. Family guide for fruits and seeds: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 12th April 2021. delta-intkey.com’.
