Impatiens textorii ("Tsurifuneso")

Japanese name: ツリフネソウ （釣舟草）
Scientific name: Impatiens textorii

[Overview]
An annual 50–80 cm tall, growing in moist places in the mountains.
The nodes of the stem are swollen.
The leaves are simple and alternate, rhombic-elliptic, 6–14 cm long and 4–7 cm wide, with serrations on the margins.
The leaf stalks are 1–5 cm long.
Racemes rise obliquely from the leaf axils and bear 7–8 flowers.
The axis of the inflorescence and the flower stalks have reddish-purple, projecting hairs.
The flowers are tubular, 3.5–4 cm long, and reddish purple.
There are purple spots inside the flower.
Behind the flower is a spur that stores nectar; its tip curls in a spiral.
In the lower leaf axils of the stem, cleistogamous flowers form, which are pollinated while still in bud and become fruit.
The fruit is a spindle-shaped capsule 1–2 cm long; when a ripe fruit is touched, it splits open and scatters the seeds.

[Uses]
The whole plant is used medicinally.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, sown immediately after harvest.
It also spreads readily by self-sown seed.
It prefers partial shade and soil that is well drained, moisture-retentive and moderately moist.
When planting in the ground, it is best planted under deciduous trees.
When watering, take care not to let it dry out, and water thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
In spring and after flowering, as fertilizer after flowering, place slow-release fertilizer on the soil.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

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