Chinese Balsam
Impatiens walleriana
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Chinese Balsam
Identify Chinese Balsam by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a herb habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Widely cultivated bedding impatiens (busy Lizzie).
- Confirm leaf arrangement: Alternate.
- Confirm leaf type: Simple.
- Confirm flower colour: Pink.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and nearby regions.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Impatiens walleriana
- Genus
- Impatiens
- Family
- Balsaminaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Native to
- Africa
- Found in India
- Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Nagaland, Puducherry, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
Leaf characters
- Leaf arrangement
- AlternaterecordedOne leaf per node, arranged in a spiral or zigzag up the stem.
- Leaf type
- SimplerecordedA single, undivided leaf blade.“The changeable, simple leaves are stalked 1.5 to 6 cm long.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Chinese Balsam itself; the rest are typical of the Balsaminaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Pinkrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Solitary
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Chinese Balsam itself; the rest are typical of the Balsaminaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Malayalam
- ഇമ്പേഷ്യൻസ് വാലെറിയാന, ബാൽസം
About Chinese Balsam
A member of the Balsaminaceae family, Chinese Balsam (Impatiens walleriana) is a herb. In India it has been recorded in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and 13 other states. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Balsaminaceae
Balsam/Touch-me-not family
Chinese Balsam belongs to the Balsaminaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
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