The question was asked on our social networks and sounded like this: WHAT PLANT GROWS IN THE BOSQUETS OF THE SUMMER GARDEN? And a photograph of this plant was attached.

In total, seven group members answered the question. All correctly identified the genus of the plant. This is Impatiens (Impatiens). The name Impatiens comes from “im” – the prefix for negation and “patientia” – patience, that is, impatient. From the property of ripe fruits, when touched with a crack, open and shoot seeds.

Opinions were divided with the definition of the type of touchy. The part simply indicated the genus of Impatiens or balsam. These are Irina Kuznetsova, Svetlana Krasnova, Irina Smirnova. Others have identified the species as Impatiens noli-tangere L. – common touch-me-not. They were Anastasia Nikolaeva and Irina Estrina. Still others wrote that it was Impatiens parviflora DC. – touch-me-not small-flowered. This answer was sent by Tatiana Andreeva and Tatiana Kuznetsova. Thanks to everyone who took part in solving this problem.

Correct answer. The photo shows Impatiens parviflora DC. – touch-me-not small-flowered. This plant was described in 1824 by the Swiss botanist Augustin Decandol. In the botanical gardens of Europe, the seeds of the Impatiens small-flowered were brought from Central Asia as a collection plant. But botanists did not have time to figure out the properties of this plant, but it has already managed to escape from culture, and is now distributed throughout Europe, the European part of Russia and even Siberia. At present, the species Impatiens parviflora is included in the “Black Book of Flora of Central Russia” as an alien plant species in the ecosystems of Central Russia. In places the touch-sensitive small-flowered displaces the local species of the common touch-sensitive.

It is not difficult to confuse these two types. Plant habit, leaf shape, yellowish color of the flower corolla are the same for both species. But there are a number of characteristic features by which it is very easy to distinguish between these two types. First, this is the size of the flower: in the small-flowered touch-me-not, it is two times less than in the common touch-me-not. Second, the spur in the touch-me-not has a small-flowered straight line, and in the touch-me-not it is crooked.

Thanks again to everyone who is interested in the botanical mysteries of the gardens of the Russian Museum.

Enjoy your walks in the gardens. You can find out about the opening hours of the gardens of the Russian Museum on our website. Link below.

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