A plant of the genus Balsamina or family Balsaminaceae, especially the busy Lizzie or touch-me-not, valued for ornamental flowers.
From the Latinized genus name 'Balsamina,' derived from 'balsam.' The English common name 'balsamine' directly translates the scientific genus designation.
The name 'balsamine' is almost never used in modern everyday English—people say 'impatiens' or 'busy Lizzie' instead, but seed catalogs and botanical journals still use 'balsamine' to connect to 300 years of horticultural tradition.
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