Impatiens hawkeri

Impatiens hawkeri, the New Guinea impatiens, is a species of flowering plant in the family Balsaminaceae. It is native to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.^[1] It has been bred and hybridized in cultivation to produce a line of garden plants.

Impatiens hawkeri
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Balsaminaceae
Genus:	Impatiens
Species:	I. hawkeri
Binomial name
Impatiens hawkeri W.Bull

Cultivation

It was first collected in the Territory of Papua in 1884 and soon became popular as a greenhouse plant. After its discovery, fifteen other similar New Guinea taxa were collected, all of which were later determined to be forms of I. hawkeri.^[2]

Plants with a great variety of flower and leaf colours are sold in nurseries.^[3] The species has been crossed with Impatiens aurantiaca and I. platypetala to improve characteristics such as drought resistance.^[4]