Pale Touch-me-not

(Impatiens pallida)

 

Color Photograph: Copyright Nearctica.com, Inc.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

Pale Touch-me-not (Impatiens pallida)

Identification:  Flower hanging, lateral, yellow with brown spots in the throat, but otherwise unspoted. Two fused petals forming lower lip, and upper hood, and two small, fleshy petals on the sides. Apex of corolla with a small hook. Seed pods when ripe pop open when touched. Stem smooth, watery when broken Leaves ovate, toothed on the margins. Plant 3 to 5 feet in height.

Distribution: Southern Canada and southward to Missouri and Virginia, south in the mountains to Georgia. Also found in the Plains States.

Habitat: Pale Touch-me-not is a species of wet, soggy ground and mountain forests on limestone soils.

Flowering period: July to October.

Pale Touch-me-not (Impatiens pallida)

Similar Species:

Spotted Touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis)

 

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