Impatiens
Impatiens hochstetteri (?)
Observed adjacent to a roadway through Kakamega Forest Preserve, Kenya, Africa. 12 October 2010.
This flowering shrub, about 1-½ m tall, was found growing adjacent to a tarmac access road through Kakamega Forest. The flower is bilaterally symmetrical, i.e. an imaginary line through center will reveal two mirror-image halves. There are five united petals. Emerging from the flower is a long spur behind. At the end of this spur is a gland that produces sugar-nectar to attract bees or butterflies. In this case only a pollinator with a long ‘proboscis’ can reach it. In this way the plant can select out many inefficient pollinators.
The margins of the leaf petioles have sharp curved spines.
Balsaminaceae -- Balsam Family
