Impatiens cothurnoides C. Fischer in Bull. Misc. Inform. 1931: 281. 1931.

Herbs, ca 60 cm high; stems stout, almost woody, branched, glabrous below, brown-furfuraceous at ends of branchlets, as are peduncles, pedicels and bracts. Leaves opposite and ternate, linear-elliptic, decurrent at base, subacute at apex, denticulate along margins, membranous, sparsely hairy on midnerve and lateral nerves on both surfaces; midnerve prominent below, primary nerves 9 - 10 pairs ascending at a narrow angle. Flowers 2 - 4 together in an umbel, primrose-yellow; peduncles axillary, solitary, slender, 0.2 - 1.5 cm long; bracts at base of pedicels, lanceolate, acute, ca 3 mm long; pedicels slender, 0.5 - 1 cm long. Lateral sepals falcate-lanceolate, acute, ca 5 mm long, green. Lip ca 1.2 cm long excluding spur, mouth oblique, acute, shortly saccate at posterior base, spurred at anterior extremity; spur upwardly recurved, blunt, ca 1 cm long, shortly furfuraceous-hairy, hairs longer near apex of spur. Standard suborbicular, concave, ca 8 mm across, dorsally shortly hairy. Wings ca 2 cm long, 2-lobed; distal lobes oblong, orbicular, ca 1.2 x 0.45 cm, auricle well-developed, orbicular, cuneate, 3 - 4 mm long; basal lobes orbicular, 8 - 9 mm long; dorsal auricle cuneate, 3 - 4 mm long. Capsules linear-fusiform or slightly clavate, acute, ca 1 cm long, glabrous; seeds pyriform, strongly curved, ca 1 mm long, rugulose, papillose.

Fl. & Fr. Nov - Jan.

Distrib. India: W. & E. Himalayas, on river banks, ca 3000 m. Uttar Pradesh, W. Bengal and Sikkim.

Endemic.