common touch-me-not (western touch-me-not)
Balsaminaceae (Touch-me-not family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Introduction
Western touch-me-not is a native annual species of moist streambanks and forests. Yellow spurred flowers appear in summer.
|
Species Information
General:
Annual succulent herb; stems erect to ascending, often branched, hairy, 20-60 cm tall.
Leaves:
Alternate, stalked, elliptic to egg-shaped, coarsely saw-toothed, 3-12 cm long.
Flowers:
One to several in leaf axils, yellow, sparingly flecked with brownish-purple; sepals pouched, with spurs curved or deflexed forward.
Fruits:
Capsules, elastically dehiscent, 10-20 mm long, many-seeded.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
348 | 15 | 1740 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
4 | 0 | 50 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
206 | 3 | 340 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
5 | 2 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
E | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
58 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CWH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BWBS(2), CWH(32), ICH(15), SBS(9) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist streambanks and forests in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; infrequent throughout BC south of 57degreeN; circumboreal, N to SE AK, E to MB, and S to ID and OR; Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Impatiens occidentalis Rydb.
Taxonomic Keys
Taxonomic Key to Impatiens
1. Pouched sepals not spurred......................................I. ecalcarata 1. Pouched sepals spurred. 2. Leaves opposite or whorled (at least some of them), finely saw-toothed; flowers blue to purple or purplish-pink or sometimes white............................ I. glandulifera 2. Leaves alternate, coarsely saw-toothed; flowers orange or yellowish. 3. Spurs of the sepals straight, directed backward.......................................I. parviflora 3. Spurs of the sepals curved or hooked. 4. Flowers less than 2 cm long, without spots..........................I. aurella 4. Flowers more than 2 cm long, spotted, mottled or sparingly flecked. 5. Flowers orange, brown-spotted, or -mottled.........................I. capensis 5. Flowers yellow, sparingly flecked with brownish purple........................I. noli-tangere |