Impatiens capensis is an annual plant native to eastern North America that is currently spreading across Europe. In Poland, due to this plant’s rapid spread in the secondary range and high competitiveness in relation to native species, it is considered a locally invasive species. The microstructure of seeds is an important tool for solving various taxonomic problems and also provides data useful for determining the impact of various environmental factors on the phenotypic variability of species. This issue is particularly important in regard to invasive species which occupy a wide range of habitats in the invaded range. There are few reports on seed size and thus far no descriptions of the seed ultrastructure of I. capensis in the analyzed literature. We present new data on the seed morphology of I. capensis growing in different habitats and conditions in the secondary range of the species. The studied populations differed significantly in each of the investigated traits (seed length, width, circumference, area, roundness, and mass). Our findings showed that anthropogenic disturbances in habitats and some soil parameters (presence of carbonates, potassium, loose sand, and moisture) were statistically significant with various seed sizes and morphology in the studied populations of I. capensis. Moreover, our studies showed maximum seed length (5.74 mm) and width (3.21 mm) exceeding those values given in the available literature. For the first time, we also provide a detailed SEM study of the ultrastructure of the seed coat of I. capensis. There are two types of epidermal cells on the seeds: (a) between the ribs (elongated with straight anticlinal walls, slightly concave outer periclinal walls, and micropapillate secondary sculpture on the edges with anticyclic walls), and (b) on the ribs (isodiametric cells with straight anticlinal walls and concave outer periclinal walls). Unlike the variability of size and weight of seeds, the coat ornamentation has turned out to be a steady feature within the studied secondary range of I. capensis.

中文翻译：

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入侵性凤仙花的种子形态和雕塑。来自不同的栖息地


凤仙花是一种一年生植物，原产于北美东部，目前已遍布欧洲。在波兰，由于这种植物在次要分布区的快速传播以及相对于本地物种的高竞争力，它被认为是当地入侵物种。种子的微观结构是解决各种分类问题的重要工具，也为确定各种环境因素对物种表型变异的影响提供有用的数据。对于在入侵范围内占据广泛栖息地的入侵物种来说，这个问题尤为重要。关于种子大小的报道很少，迄今为止在分析文献中还没有对 I. capensis 种子超微结构的描述。我们提供了有关在该物种次生范围的不同生境和条件下生长的 I. capensis 种子形态的新数据。所研究的群体在每个研究性状（种子长度、宽度、周长、面积、圆度和质量）方面存在显着差异。我们的研究结果表明，在所研究的 I. capensis 种群中，生境和一些土壤参数（碳酸盐、钾、松散沙子和水分的存在）的人为干扰对于不同种子大小和形态具有统计显着性。此外，我们的研究表明最大种子长度（5.74 毫米）和宽度（3.21 毫米）超过了现有文献中给出的值。我们还首次对 I. capensis 种皮的超微结构进行了详细的 SEM 研究。 种子上有两种类型的表皮细胞：（a）肋之间（伸长，有直的垂周壁，外周壁稍凹，边缘有微乳头状二次雕刻，有反环壁），和（b）在肋上（具有直垂周壁和凹形外周壁的等径细胞）。与种子大小和重量的可变性不同，皮毛装饰已被证明是所研究的 I. capensis 次生范围内的稳定特征。