Impatiens sodenii

Impatiens sodenii Engl. & Warb. ex. Engl (1894)

Balsaminaceae

Synonyms

Impatiens thomsonii Oliv.

Impatiens uguenensis Warb.

Impatiens oliveri C.H. Wright ex. Wats.

Impatiens elgonensis T.C.E. Fries

Impatiens magnifica G.M. Schulze

From Kenya, N&E Tanzania. Grows in damp shaded or rather exposed places in upland rain forests, gullies, cliff ledges or amongst granite boulders. 1000-2700m.Drought resistant to a certain extent due to thick fleshy stems. Exposed plants will grow in a squat form.

(C. Grey-Wilson, Impatiens of Africa)

First cultivated at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew from seed collected at the Lykipia-Uganda Railway, Uganda (Bot Mag. type t.7960-1904) by Sir John Kirk in 1903. The original plants were growing at an altitude of nearly 2500m. He suggested the name Impatiens oliveri after their discoverer.