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.