Floral morphology and pollination biology in impatiens: a comprehensive review

Abstract

This review provides comprehensive information on the phenology, floral biology, pollinators and their behaviour among the members of Impatiens. Approximately 400 articles covering various aspects of floral morphology and pollinator attraction were reviewed for the present study. The flowers have been reported to exhibit diverse morphologies, which attract floral visitors to them. Balsams are a real group of plants used to evaluate the overall frequency, relative importance, and various unique pollinator evolution processes. Apart from African species, most species in India are predominantly pollinated by bees. The floral morphological variations, including colour, sepal, petal, and spur morphology, are used to attract or pollinate bees, moths, butterflies, and birds. Pale to deep pink flowers with shallow lower sepals and a narrow entrance have been pollinated by butterflies. In contrast, yellow, white, or pale pink, funnel-shaped lower sepals with hood-like dorsal petals and short spurs have been preferred for pollination by bees. Similarly, red or orange flowers with a broad entrance were usually pollinated by birds, whereas moths pollinated funnel-shaped white flowers with long spurs. The outcome of various studies on the floral morphology of Impatiens in relation to pollination has shown that nectar spur features were highly adopted with the type of pollinators visiting the flower. The floral morphology has significance in the case of attracting floral visitors in Impatiens.