Controversy over a Rare Parrot Flower

Some believe if you can't easily buy one on the internet it must be a hoax!

The excuse if something cannot easily be found on the net it must be a fake is a feeble excuse used by people too lazy to go to the library or read a good scientific sourcebook.  One individual, along with his followers, on a large gardening website claimed this flower is a hoax created by the Exotic Rainforest website.  This individual also attempted to imply the people of Arkansas were somehow of substandard intelligence!

I make no claim to be a botanist or "plant expert".  I enjoy researching rare plants.  But I assure you, if this is a PhotoShop hoax a lot of people must be spending the $900 for a copy of PhotoShop!  The magazine owner of that very large garden website asked three times in one morning I remove the quote below.  Since they did not like the negative publicity caused when I reposted the person's quote directly from their site along with the name of their website.  They have since taken down his claims and his attempts to prove this flower was created in PhotoShop and the Exotic Rainforest website is a fraud.  I have deleted all references to the individual by full name as well as the name of their website.  But that website allowed his slander to remain on their board for more than one week and apparently enjoyed all the hits his comments caused. 

If you don't believe Impatiens psittacina exists that is your right.  But I'm leaving up the quote for those who would still like to imply this flower is a hoax.  It is quite real and many in Thailand thought it was extremely funny people in North America were claiming otherwise.  If you can read Thai, I'm told you can actually find comments about this incident on Thai websites.

If you like Thai food ask the folks at your local Thai restaurant if they are from Chiang Mai where
the plant is found.  If they are, then ask about the Thailand Parrot Flower.  We've found many know all about the flower! 

This is only one of the writer's unedited multiple slanderous posts:
Posted By:
Date: Monday, 9 October 2006, at 11:22 p.m.

I have wasted two days on this stupid "parrot flower" scam, and that is what it is!!!! Lucas has been on every gardening forum I can find. He has even used the (name removed) Botanical Gardens forum, to give credability to his bogus claims. He has even "Cut & Pasted" the flower images into the 1901 botanical reports of "an" impatiens flower.The bottom line, is that he is using the topic (and fermenting the exotic part of it) to promote his own rare tropical plant sales site, i.e. www.exoticrainforest.com. Even though, in his own cited references,"it is easily raised from seed". And, he even at his sales site, refers to the plant, as "known on the Internet as the rare Thailand Parrot flower". Gee, I wonder why it is referred to in that manner, might it have been his relentless references as such on every BB. I can assure everyone right now, that if the Thais thought there was anything to this, you could buy them at your corner store very quickly! When one saw the Arkansas address, it should have been a clue!!! Now, in case some of you are disappointed that you can't buy this real or imagined plant, glasshouse works out of Ohio offers an impatiens Niamniamensis African Queen which looks very similar, "like a cockatoo hanging from a string" and, undoctored. Note: I am not recommending this firm. The bottom line, in my opinion, this entire hoax, is outright Spam!