How did impatience get their name?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

August 24, 2001

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Balsam is an old word coming from the Latin, balsamum, and before that the Greek, balsamon. It is thought that long before the Greeks, the word came from the Semitic peoples of the Levant, the lands along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean.

Balsam is any oily, resinous, fragrant plant sap that hardens when exposed to air. The word was once specific and referred to myrrh as in the balsam (balm) of Gilead. By extension, the word came to mean any fragrant plant exudates used ceremonially or for soothing, healing and easing pain.

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The rose balsam (Impatiens balsamina) is an annual from tropical Asia. A tall attractive plant, it was probably the first cultivated 'impatience' growing in gardens of India and China. The prepared sap of the rose balsam was a red dye for the fingernails.

Although acrid, the sap from various species of impatience like jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) is a soothing topical, a balsam, especially when one encounters nettle. Early home treatments for poison ivy rash included jewelweed.

Busy Lizzy or impatience (Impatiens walleriana) was discovered in eastern Africa in the 1860s. Until the early years of the 1900s, this impatience was known as garden balsam. A plant breeder, Claude Hope, made garden balsam popular when he bred smaller, more compact plants like the Elfin series. And there is nothing that brightens up a shade garden like the colorful splash of garden balsams. So how did these quiet gems get the name, impatience?

Linnaeus named the genus Impatiens, Latin for impatience. The first species he named was native to Europe. Long before his time, the European plants were known as noli-me-tangere, Latin for "do not touch me". The first named species then was Impatiens noli-tangere or the "impatient touch-me-not". Both names were references to the seed pods. When Impatiens seeds are mature, the slightest touch will cause the pod to explode flinging the tiny seeds up to 20 feet.

To learn more about growing impatience and view photographs of some of the many species of impatience, visit Derick Pitman's "Mr. Impatiens" website, click on the link:

http://www.mrimpatiens.coml

(Compiled from: The 1889 Century Dictionary, published to the internet by Global Language Resources, 2001-2005; A Modern Herbal, Mrs. M. Grieve, Dover edition with the Index of Scientific Names by Manya Marshall, Dover Publications, NY, 1971; "Balsaminaceae DC", The Families of Flowering Plants, L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz, 1992 onwards; and the A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, C. Brickell and J.D. Zuk, eds., The American Horticultural Society, DK Publishing, NY, 1997)

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Comments: Impatients add bright carefree color to shady beds. Start seed indoors in early spring, plant outside after all danger of frost has passed. Plant impatients in large masses, mix them with perennials, or use them in containers. Watch for hummingbirds. Tempo was selected for its superior performance after several years of intense testing. The dazzling flowers--up to 2 inches across--give a magnificent display of color in the garden. Sturdy plants grow 8-10 inches tall and thrive in full sun to paritial shade. Approximately 30 seeds per packet.

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