Tas. 7809. 
IMPATIENS psrrractna. 
Native of Burma. 
Nat. Ord. GerantacEz.—Tribe BaLtsaMINEx. 
Genus Impatiens, Linn.; (Benth. & Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. i. p. 277.) 
Impatiens (Uniflore) psittacina; annua, erecta, foliosa, ramulis teretibus 
coloratis, foliis alternis breviter petiolatis ovatis argute serrulatis, dentibus 
eglandulosis, basi rotundatis subtus ad insertionem petioli glandulis 2 
clavellatis erectis instructis, petiolo basi eglanduloso, floribus axillaribus 
solitariis 2 poll. longis pallide lilacinis roseo et kermesino pictis, pedi- 
cello pollicari decurvo basi v. supra basin bracteolis 1 v. 2 minutis 
subulatis instructo, sepalis 2 herbaceis oblongo-rutundatis, vexillo orbicu- 
lari 3 poll. lato emarginato concavo ecostato pallide roseo, alis 14 poll. 
longis lobo basilari rotundato concavo erecto terminali paullo longiore 
recurvo oblique oblongo apice rotundato roseo fasciato, labello amplo 
incurvo conico-campanulato albo dorso kermesino basi in calear breve 
uncinato-incurvum kermesinum abrupte constricto, filamentis elongatis 
gracilibus decurvis antheris brevibus, ovario elongato. 
The Cockatoo Balsam. 
In the absence of fruit, which did not ripen in the plant 
at Kew, I am unable to determine the affinity of this 
strikingly beautiful Balsam. It is described by Mr. 
Hildebrand, its discoverer in the Shan States of Upper 
Burma, as a pretty, compact plant, from one and a half 
feet to two and a half feet high, covered with flowers 
which resemble a Cockatoo suspended bya string from the 
shoulders, whence its name. I find no specimen at all 
resembling it in the Kew Herbarium, or in that of the 
Herbarium of the Royal Gardens, Calcutta, of which the 
Balsams have been entrusted to me for study and verifica- 
tion. Unfortunately good collections of the Balsams of 
Burma have never been made, and those that have been col- 
lected (about twenty species are known to me) are mostly 
dried without sufficient care. Sir Dietrich Brandis, who 
spent much time on forest duties in Burma, tells me that 
the genus swarms in that country, and that a rich harvest 
remains for a botanist who will devote his attention to 
them. 
I, psittacina was raised from seed presented to the Royal 
DecemBER Ist, 1901. 
