Impatiens pallida

Impatiens pallida (pale jewelweed, pale touch-me-not or yellow jewelweed) is a flowering plant native to Canada and the United States. It grows in moist to wet soils, generally alongside the closely related Impatiens capensis, producing flowers from midsummer through fall. Along with other species of jewelweed or "touch-me-not", it is a traditional remedy for skin rashes, although controlled studies have not shown efficacy for this purpose.

Pale jewelweed
Pale jewelweed blooming in the rare Charitable Research Reserve (Ontario, Canada).
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Balsaminaceae
Genus: Impatiens
Species:
I. pallida
Binomial name
Impatiens pallida

Pollination

Nectar spurs are tubular elongations of petals and sepals of certain flowers that usually contain nectar. Flowers of Impatiens pallida have nectar spurs which are thought to have played a role in plant-pollinator coevolution. Most of the nectar spurs of Impatiens pallida are perpendicular but some of them are curved.[1]

These nectar spur flowers are either partially or completely pollinated by insects. The specific pollinator is determined by the curvature of the nectar spur. Since Impatiens pallida have perpendicular nectar spurs, bees are the main pollinators.[1]

References
  1. Tavers,S.E., Temeles, E.J. and I. Pan. "The relationship between nectar spur curvature in jewelweed ( Impatients capensis)and pollen removal by hummingbird pollinators" Canadian Journal of Botany, 2003, vol. 81, pp. 164-170
  • Blanchan, Neltje (2005). Wild Flowers Worth Knowing. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.