Impatiens hawkeri

Impatiens hawkeri, the New Guinea impatiens, is a species of flowering plant in the family Balsaminaceae.  It is native to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.  It has been bred and hybridized in cultivation to produce a line of garden plants. 

It was first collected in the Territory of Papua in 1884 and soon became popular as a greenhouse plant.  After its discovery, fifteen other similar New Guinea taxa were collected, all of which were later determined to be forms of I. hawkeri. 

Plants with a great variety of flower and leaf colours are sold in nurseries.  The species has been crossed with Impatiens aurantiaca and I. platypetala to improve characteristics such as drought-resistance. 

References

hawkeri
Category:Flora of New Guinea
Category:Flora of the Solomon Islands (archipelago)
Category:House plants
Category:Plants described in 1886