Common Name:

General Information

Impatiens niamniamensis is an upright perennial, rarely annual herbaceous plant that can grow 1 - 2.5 metres tall. The stems are thick and fleshy, generally much-branched in one report, or little branched according to another, and becoming woody at the base[, ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine. It is widely grown in Africa and elsewhere as an ornamental garden or potplant[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Angola, DR Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanz

Habitat

Moist, usually densely shaded sites, forest, riverine and swamp forest, bushland, river banks, pathways; occasionally epiphytic on trunks and stumps of trees; sometimes on rocks; at elevations from 370 - 2,400 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Annual/Perennial
Height	0.00 m
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

The plant is intolerant of frost[].

In its natural range the plant flowers throughout the year[].

Edible Uses

Leaves - cooked and eaten as a vegetable[, ].

The leaves are used to produce a vegetable salt[, ].

Medicinal

The leaves are eaten as a vegetable in order to cure heart troubles and illnesses caused by evil spirits[, ].
The leaves are used to make poultices and dressings to treat wounds and sores and to alleviate all kinds of painful conditions, including whitlows, violent migraines and painful joints[, ].

The flavonoids procyanidin and prodelphidin have been isolated from the sepals and petals[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - rarely set by garden plants[].
Cuttings root easily[].

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