Impatiens, Linnaeus (1753: 937), Linnaeus, 1753

Arya, Sindhu & Kumar, Venugopalan Nair Saradhamma Anil, 2024, Impatiens neo-uncinata (Balsaminaceae), a new species from southern Western Ghats of Kerala, India, Phytotaxa 644 (1), pp. 1-9 : 6-7

A key to delineate the 19 species belonging to the section subumbellata

1a. Stem or pedicle viscous or sticky .......................................................................................................................................................2

1b. Stem or pedicle not viscous or sticky .................................................................................................................................................6

2a. Habit, perennialshrubs or undershrub, pedicle viscid, dorsal auricle absent......................................................................... I. viscida

2b. Habit, annual herbs, stem viscid, dorsal auricle present.....................................................................................................................3

3a. Standarad keel petal deltoid to round, undivided, spur equal or longer than standard keel petal ......................................... I. viscosa

3b. Wing petal round to triangular, divided, spur shorter than the standard keel petal............................................................................4

4a. Dorsal auricle short, spur short, distal lobe round............................................................................................................. I. parvifolia

4b. Dorsal auricle up to 8mm long, distal lobe of standard keel petal deeply or shallowly divided........................................................5

5a. Flowers 15mm across, white or cream coloured with bright crimson blotch at the base, dorsal auricle 2–4 cm long, orange or yellow .................................................................................................................................................................................... I. omissa

5b. Flowers 4–6mm across, usually pink with bright crimson blotch at the base of distal lobe, dorsal auricle half the length of keel petal, pink or purple.............................................................................................................................................................. I. goughii

6a Leaves alternate or opposite or forming rosette at the apex of the stem ............................................................................................7

6b Leaves alternate not forming rosette at the apex of the stem .............................................................................................................8

7a Distal lobe with knob like outgrowth, spur incurved, 2.6 cm long, seeds echinate ......................................................... I. umbellata

7b Distal lobe without outgrowth, spur short or absent, seeds hairy................................................................................. I. travancorica

8a Flowers without blotch in the throat, perennial shrub or undershrub.................................................................................................9

8b. Flower with blotch in the throat, annual herb...................................................................................................................................12

9a. Stem thick, woody; petiole with pair of stalked glands at base........................................................................................................10

9b. Stem slender and herbaceous; Petiole with absence of gland ..........................................................................................................11

10a. Flowers snowy white, purple streaks at throat ..................................................................................................................... I. grandis

10b. Flowers red or scarlet with no purple/red streaks on throat ............................................................................................ I. verticillata

11a. Lateral lobe of standard keel obovate; flower white spotted with purple, spur stout inflated in the middle .............. I. campanulata

11b. Lateral lobe of standard keel roughly triangular; flower yellow, green, red or white, spur long, not inflated....................... I. disotis

12a. Seeds with distinctly long hair; extra petiolar glands present ..........................................................................................................15

12b. Seeds glabrous or with scattered stout outgrowth confined to the testa, extra petiolar glands absent.............................................13

13a. Lateral sepal curved upward; spur stout curved at the apex, seeds glabrous or minute hairs present .............................................14

13b. Lateral sepal curved downwards; spur absent or stout small, seed minutely hairy............................................................... I. leptura

14a. Dorsal auricle thick; small basal lobe dark purple; pollen rod shaped, distal lobe obovate; seeds with 2 bands of hairs on testa...... ............................................................................................................................................................................................ I. uncinata

14b. Dorsal auricle absent; basal lobe white, pollen roughly rectangular, distal lobe deltoid, seeds with stout scattered projections........ ....................................................................................................................................................................................... I. neouncinata

15a. Basal lobe do not form vault over stamen, flowers without crimson spot at the centre...................................................................16

15b. Basal lobe forming vault over stamen, flowers with purple spot at the centre ................................................................................17

16a. Flowers small and do not open completely, spur upto 1cm long, dorsal auricle absent ................................................ I. wynadensis

16b. Flowers open, large, dorsal auricle present ..................................................................................................................... I. anamudica

17a. Spur completely absent......................................................................................................................................................... I. elegens

17b. Spur present, can be long or short ....................................................................................................................................................18

18a. Spur long about 2 cm long.................................................................................................................................................... I. cordata

18b. Spur dhortupto 6mm long................................................................................................................................................. I. verecunda

Impatiens neouncinata shows a little range of variations in plant size and flower. The plants were collected from 3 different areas in Agasthyamala biosphere reserve. The size of the plants varied from 8 to 35 cm with greenish to pale green or purple to dark purple coloured stem and the internodal length varied from 1.5 to 7 cm. The flower size varied from 2.2–2.5 cm, however the flower colour was consistent in all the population collected.