E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Impatiens parviflora DC.
small touch-me-not (balsam; small balsam; smallflower touchmenot)
Balsaminaceae (Touch-me-not family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Impatiens parviflora
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Introduction

Balsam, or small touch-me-not, is an introduced, invasive species of Impatiens that is native to central Asia (Flora of Northwestern Europe 2010). It is reported in North America only from Canada, where it has been found in British Columbia, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia (USDA 2010). In British Columbia, it is widespread in the Lower Mainland. In the Lower Mainland, it is reported from many locations, including the Greater Vancouver area, Abbotsford, Chilliwack (including the Chilliwack River Valley), and Vedder Mountain. The earliest BC collection record for this species in the UBC Herbarium is from 1949, when it was collected at Spanish Banks in Vancouver by John Eastman.

This species is found in disturbed sites in BC where it occurs in shady, moist to damp, nutrient-rich areas. It often grows in thick profusion and can form continuous linear populations along roadsides. It is a frost-intolerant annual succulent herb, 20 to 80 cm tall, with pale yellow spurred flowers occurring in the leaf axils. The spur is straight and points backwards. Flowering in BC occurs from July through to September.

Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Annual succulent herb; stems erect to ascending, often branched, glabrous, 20-80 cm tall.

Leaves:
Alternate, stalked, egg-shaped to elliptic, finely and sharply saw-toothed, 3-12 cm long.

Flowers:
One to several in leaf axils, pale yellow; sepals pouched, with spurs straight and directed backward.

Fruits:
Capsules, elastically dehiscent, 10-20 mm long, many-seeded.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Key to the Species and Taxonomic Notes

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

Habitat / Range

Moist disturbed areas in the lowland zone; infrequent in SW BC, known only from the Vancouver area; introduced from Asia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Exotic	SNA	Exotic	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

UBC Herbarium Scanned Collection Record
Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-17 4:44:35 AM ]

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