Chinese scientists have discovered a total of three new plant species of Impatiens and published the relevant findings in the international journal Plants.

The new discoveries include a unique species of Impatiens that was found in the Liziping Nature Reserve in southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to a research team from Wuhan Botanical Garden under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The species is similar to Impatiens longiloba and Impatiens siculifer, but differs in its lower sepal with a long arista at the apex of the mouth, its spur curved downward or circinate, and lower petal that is oblong-elliptic and two times longer than the upper petal.

The plant was then identified as a new species and named Impatiens longiaristata based on its morphological characteristics.

The other two species of Impatiens were found from 2012 to 2020 in Longshan County of central China's Hunan Province after researchers from the botanical garden worked in cooperation with their counterparts from Hunan Normal University.

They named the species Impatiens longshanensis and Impatiens lihengiana respectively, with the former named after its origin while the latter named as a mark of tribute to renowned Chinese botanist Li Heng.

The newly identified plants are expected to contribute to the richness of China's Impatiens species. There are more than 1,000 Impatiens species in the world, of which approximately 290 are recorded in China. (From Xinhua)