| Class: | angiosperms |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Balsaminaceae |
| Genus: | Impatiens |
| Herbar: | list records    |
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| species: 1 |
| Habit (i)general appearance of a plant | |
| Growth form: (i)Herb, shrub, tree or climber. | herb (i)Herbaceous, erect plant, up to 2m high, mostly with a leafy shoot; if perennial, shoots die to the ground each season, shoots are not woody
example: Artemisia pectinata   inherited by family Balsaminaceae: herb
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| Parasite status: (i)Is the plant a half- or full parasite? | no parasite/saprophyte (i)Plant fully autonomous, leaves with chlorophyll
example: Most plants, Ranunculus inherited by family Balsaminaceae: no parasite/saprophyte
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| Water or terrestrial plant: (i)Where do the plants grow? | terrestrial (i)Plant grows on dry land
example: Orostachys spinosa inherited by family Balsaminaceae: terrestrial
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| Leaf (i)expanded, usually photosynthetic organ of a plant (including phylloclades) | |
| Leaf development: (i)Structure and development of leaves. | with green leaves (i)Plant with green leaves inherited by family Balsaminaceae: with green leaves
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| Leaf arrangement: (i)Arrangement of leaves at the stem. | alternate (i)One leaf per node; distiche: arranged in two vertical rows, equitant
example: Phragmites   inherited by family Balsaminaceae: alternate
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| Petiole: (i)Leaf divided into stalk (petiole) and blade. | with (i)Leaves with petiole (stalk)  inherited by family Balsaminaceae: with
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| Stipule: (i)Leaflets at the base of the petiole, these are smaller and of different shape. | none (i)Without stipules
example: Euphorbia, Ericaceae s.l. inherited by family Balsaminaceae: none
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| Leaf veination: (i)Arrangement of the main veins of a leaf. | pinnate (i)One main vein, several side veins, sometimes inconspicuous
example: Cicerbita    inherited by family Balsaminaceae: pinnate
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| Flower (i)reproductive portion of the plant, consisting of sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils | |
| Flower appearance and pollination: (i)General appearance of the flower. | attractive, animal-pollinated (i)attractive and coloured flowers, mostly large, attracting surely animals
example: Trollius, Rosa, Chamaerhodos inherited by family Balsaminaceae: attractive, animal-pollinated
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| Perianth arrangement: (i)Attention: in some plants, flowers may be dimorphic in different ways (dioecious or gynodioecious). If flowers vary, record the characters of the most showy flowers. | double, different (i)Two types of perianth leaves, differently coloured (sepals: outer periant leaves, usually greenish, and petals: inner perianth leaves, usually coloured)
example: Parnassia   inherited by family Balsaminaceae: double, different
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| Flower symmetry: (i)Symmetry of the perianth leaves. Attention: to assess this character, look on sepals, petals and stamens, but neglect carpels and ovary. | zygomorphic (i)One axis of symmetry, monosymmetrical flowers
example: Pedicularis, Nepeta, Viola    inherited by family Balsaminaceae: zygomorphic
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| Sepal number: (i)Number of sepal leaves (outer perianth leaves, calyx leaves, mostly greenish). Attention, this character applies only for flowers separated in sepals and petals, thus excluding most monocots. Be aware of the bracts (involucral leaves) of Asteraceae flowerheads, do not qualify these as sepals! Be also aware in Rosaceae is often an epicalyx developed, in this case count all parts. | 3 (i)
example: Baldellia, Alisma inherited by family Balsaminaceae: 3
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| Sepal fusion: (i)To which degree are the sepal leaves connected? Attention, this character applies only for flowers separated in sepals and petals, thus excluding most monocots. Be aware of the bracts (involucral leaves) of Asteraceae flowerheads, do not qualify these as sepals! | free (i)All leaves separate from each other
example: Geranium inherited by family Balsaminaceae: free
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| Petal / Tepal number: (i)Number of petal leaves (inner perianth leaves, usually coloured). | 5 (i)
example: Potentilla inherited by family Balsaminaceae: 5
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| Petal / Tepal fusion: (i)To which degree are the petal leaves connected? Petals sympetalous. | fused (i)petal leaves united, only tips are free (gamopetalous, sympetalous)
example: Linnaea, Adenophora, Stellera inherited by family Balsaminaceae: fused
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| Spur: (i)A hollow, slender, sac-like appendage of the perianth leaves, storing nectar. | one (i)One leaf with a spur
example: Linaria, Delphinium   inherited by family Balsaminaceae: one
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| Stamen number: (i)Attention: We ask for the reproductive organs of the flower dispersing pollen. Count only fully fertile stamens, not staminodia (e.g. Parnassia). | 5 (i)
example: Peucedanum inherited by family Balsaminaceae: 5
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| Stamen fusion: (i)To which degree are the stamens fused? Attention: Whereas the pollen sacs itself are often free., their stalks (filaments) may be fused. Here, we count them as fused if they are together over at least one thirth of their length. | free (i)Stamens with separate bases
example: Malus inherited by family Balsaminaceae: free
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| Pistil number: (i)Number of pistils (female floral organs: style, if developed; stigma and carpels/ovary together build the pistil). | 1 (i)One carpel, but clearly one stigma
example: Pyrola, Primula, Alyssum inherited by family Balsaminaceae: 1
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| Carpel number: (i)Number of carpels (carpel: forming a simple pistil or part of a compound pistil, modified leaf). | 5 inherited by family Balsaminaceae: 5
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| Carpel fusion: (i)To which degree are the carpels (modified leaf forming simple pistil or part of a compound pistil) fused. | fused (i)Carpels united into an ovary, only styles are free
example: Malus, Berberis inherited by family Balsaminaceae: fused
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| Ovary position: (i)For entirely or partly fused carpels, describe their position in relation to the insertion point of perianth leaves (best done by doing a longitudinal section of a flower). | superior (hypogynous) (i)Base of carpels attached above insertion point of perianth leaves, carpels free or fused
example: Delphinium, Anemone   inherited by family Balsaminaceae: superior (hypogynous)
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| Sex: (i)Distribution of male and female organs among flowers, only most commonly cases. | bisexual, hermaphrodite (i)All or nearly all flowers of a plant with male and female parts
example: Haplophyllum, Chenopodium inherited by family Balsaminaceae: bisexual, hermaphrodite
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| Inflorescence (i)flowering part of a plant, describes the arrangement of the flowers on the flowering axis | |
| Inflorescence: (i)Structure of the inflorescence. | Flowers in inflorescence (i)No solitary flowers inherited by family Balsaminaceae: Flowers in inflorescence
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| Appearance: (i)Outer look of the inflorescence. | axillary (i)Usually several inflorescences in axillary shoots or single flowers in leaf axils, main shoot remains mostly leafy
example: Tragopogon, Aconogonon inherited by family Balsaminaceae: axillary
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| Fruit (i)the seed bearing organ, with or without adnate parts; a ripened ovary and any other structures which are attached and ripen with it. Aggregate fruits are handled like simple fruits for determination. | |
| Consistency: (i)Fleshy fruits or dry fruits, see dispersal adaptations for further classification. | dry (i)With a dry outer shell, no fleshy parts, but seed (embryo) could be edible inherited by family Balsaminaceae: dry
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| Type of fruit: (i)Common fruit types (including pseudocarp). | Solitary fruits (i)    inherited by family Balsaminaceae: Solitary fruits
capsule (i)Dry dehiscent fruit, releasing seeds by slits or holes.
example: Poppy, most Caryophyllaceae, Cerastium, a lot of Scrophulariaceae, Iris (oppened capsule looks like Delphinium), Zygophyllum - it is a very common fruit type    inherited by family Balsaminaceae: capsule
Dehiscent fruits (i)Fruits open along a longitudinale line (except silicula) inherited by family Balsaminaceae: Dehiscent fruits
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| Opening of fruit: (i)Mode of dehiscence at maturity to release seeds. | opening along dehiscent line (i)Opening along a preformed line
example: Vicia, Lathyrus: pods inherited by family Balsaminaceae: opening along dehiscent line
opening with valves (i)Capsules, siliqua, pods or follicles; opening with two or more dehiscent lines and split off outer parts as valves
example: Alyssum, Arabis: siliqua, Epilobium: four-valved capsule, Arenaria: capsule with three valves.    inherited by family Balsaminaceae: opening with valves
opening / dehiscent (i)Dry? Fruits opening with different types inherited by family Balsaminaceae: opening / dehiscent
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| Size of fruit: (i)Size of the fruit including appendage. | more than 10 mm (i)
example: Malus: wild apple inherited by family Balsaminaceae:
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| Dispersal: (i)Appearance of fruit or seed (if single) and adaptations to dispersal. | Otherwise (i)All parts dry, no conspicuous adaptations inherited by family Balsaminaceae: Otherwise
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| Root / shoot below ground (i)plant part below ground (in most cases), including below ground shoots, without leaves | |
| Root type: (i)Organisation of the roots. | allorhizous (i)Plant with a conspicuous tap root, one larger tap root with side roots
example: Dicotyledonae inherited by order Ericales: allorhizous
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