Impatiens psittacina belongs in the family Balsaminaceae, which is the same family in which the garden Impatiens and garden Balsam are found. A familiarity with the floral structure of the plants in this family will enable you to see the anatomical similarity. This will also allow you to see that the "parrot flower" is, in a manner of speaking, a perceptual illusion. You see, the parrot "head" is actually the bottom, or back, of the flower, while the "feathered parrot tail" is really the front or opening of the flower where the pollinator makes entrance. Once you see this, your perception will flip-flop between seeing the "parrot' and seeing the flower! Because of this, some forms may look much more "parrot-like" than other forms. Also, you must view the flower from the side to really get the parrot image; a frontal view will present a look just like an open flower, not a parrot.

This perceptual observation is one reason why some confusion has resulted in trying to correlate Hooker's botanical description of the plant with the actual field observations being made in the 21st century. A look at the botanical illustration from the 1901 article (see image at left) shows the blooms depicted with the floral openings facing generally towards the observer, or with the front and back of the flower in the same horizontal plane. This makes the parrot-like shape much less apparent, or even missing entirely.

More about the Parrot Flower