Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Impatiens \Im*pa"ti*ens\, n. [L., impatient.] (Bot.)
   A genus of plants, several species of which have very
   beautiful flowers; -- so called because the elastic capsules
   burst when touched, and scatter the seeds with considerable
   force. Called also {touch-me-not}, {jewelweed}, and
   {snapweed}. {I. Balsamina} (sometimes called {lady's
   slipper}) is the common garden balsam.