Impatiens kunyitensis showing short violet spur.
Summary
A new species of Impatiens, I. kunyitensis from Kerinci Seblat National Park,West Sumatra, Indonesia is described and illustrated. It has a unique combination of characters, including red and green stems and white flowers in which the lower sepal is bucciniform and abruptly constricted into a curved, short, violet spur. This combination of characters makes determining the relationships of I. kunyitensis difficult.
Key Words. Balsaminaceae, Impatiens, national park, taxonomy.
Impatiens kunyitensis Utami sp. nov. Caulis erectus, rubri et viridi coloris. Folia alternata, breviter petiolata, ovata-elliptica, 20 – 90 mm longa, 20 – 30 mm lata, petiolata 10 – 30 mm longa. Flos albus cum violaceus in basis et calcaris, terminalis. Pedicellus c. 40 mm longa, bracteae c. 10 mm longa, viridia. Sepala lateralia 2, ovata c. 13 mm longa, albus et subroseus in apex. Labellum c. 8 mm in diametro. Calcar curvatum abreviatus, c. 3 mm longa, violaceus. Vexillum obovata, c. 5 × 10 mm. Capsula fusiforma, c. 7 × 2 mm, glabra, distinguenda. Typus: Indonesia, Sumatra, Taman Dewa, Mt Kunyit, Kerinci Seblat National Park, 18 Aug. 2009,Wiguna Rahman 341 (holotypus BO!).
Fig. 2. Impatiens kunyitensis showing: A red and green stem; B short violet spur. PHOTOGRAPHS BY WIGUNA RAHMAN.
Fig. 1. Impatiens kunyitensis. A habit; B two lateral sepals; C lateral united petals; D dorsal petal; E lower spur and spur; F peduncle and ovary. All from Wiguna Rahman 341. DRAWN BY SUBARI.
CONSERVATION STATUS. Near threatened (NT) following the IUCN (2001) categories. With a limited area of distribution.
PHENOLOGY. Flowering June – August.
ETYMOLOGY. The specific epithet refers to the collecting locality, Mt Kunyit, where this species was first recognised.
NOTES. Impatiens kunyitensis is easily distinguished from all other Sumatran Impatiensspecies. It has a unique combination of characters, including red and green stems and white flowers in which the lower sepal is bucciniform and abruptly constricted into a curved,
short, violet spur. This combination of characters makes it difficult to determine the relationships of I. kunyitensis to other taxa. At first glance it even looks like a species ofPaphiopedilum Pfitzer.
Grey-Wilson (1989) noted that, within Malesia, Sumatra seems to correspond to a centre of species diversity and its evolutionary complexity is unparalleled amongst the islands of South East Asia. Therefore, it is not surprising that many new taxa of Impatiens have been, and are likely to be, found on Sumatra.
The specimen collected from the field did not have good flowers. Therefore flowers were taken from cultivated material in Cibodas Botanical Garden, Java, to supplement the type.
Impatiens kunyitensis showing red and green stem
Map 1. Distribution of Impatiens kunyitensis (orange dot)
UTAMI, N. 2011. Impatiens kunyitensis (Balsaminaceae), a new species from Sumatra, Indonesia. Kew Bull. 66 (1): 187-190, DOI: 10.1007/s12225-011-9273-0 : http://www.springerlink.com/content/l01835h7747v6k60/
