Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Small

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Tropical rainforest

Range

Sub-Saharan Africa

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Toxins

Status

Common

About

This herbaceous perennial grows in the shaded forests of eastern Africa. Its seed pods explode upon contact to scatter seeds up to six meters away.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Ericales

Family

Balsaminaceae

Genus

Impatiens

Species

Impatiens walleriana