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A new species Impatiens hambaeksanensis from Gangwon-do, South Korea, is described and illustrated, based on its morphology and distribution. I. hambaeksanensis is different from I. furcillata, another similar Impatiens species in South Korea, in some ways: I. hambaeksanensis possesses a serrate leaf margin with flat tooth tip, while I. furcillata possesses a crenate leaf margin with erect tooth tip; it has an erect inflorescence, while I. furcillata has a pendulous inflorescence; it has a smaller flower which is 2–2.6 cm long, while I. furcillata has a flower of 2.3–3.2 cm; the flower is white or pinkish-white with yellowish and purplish spots, while I. furcillata has a white lower sepal and pinkish-white lateral united petals with yellowish spots; the distal part of the lower sepal is mostly not coiled or rarely 1-coiled, while that of I. furcillata is never coiled; the spur tip is expanded, round and slightly biparted, while that of I. furcillata is expanded, ellipsoidal and clearly biparted. A taxonomic description, a holotype and photos of morphological characteristics of the new species are provided. A table which includes the morphological comparison and a geographical distribution map are presented as well.

Abstract Genetic differentiation between populations is determined by various factors, including gene flow, selection, mutation, and genetic drift. Among these, gene flow is known to counter genetic differentiation. The genus Eranthis, an early flowering perennial herb, can serve as a good model to study genetic differentiation and gene flow due to its easily detectable population characteristics and known reproductive strategies, which can be associated with gene flow patterns. Eranthis populations are typically small and geographically separated from the others. Moreover, previous studies and our own observations suggest that seed and pollen dispersal between Eranthis populations is highly unlikely and therefore, currently, gene flow may not be probable in this genus. Based on these premises, we hypothesized that the genetic differentiation between the Eranthis populations would be significant, and that the genetic differentiation would not sensitively reflect geographic distance in the absence of gene flow. To test these hypotheses, genetic differentiation, genetic distance, isolation by distance, historical gene flow, and bottlenecks were analyzed in four species of this genus. Genetic differentiation was significantly high, and in many cases, extremely high. Moreover, genetic differentiation and geographic distance were positively correlated in most cases. We provide possible explanations for these observations. First, we suggest that the combination of the marker type used in our study (chloroplast microsatellites), genetic drift, and possibly selection might have resulted in the extremely high genetic differentiation observed herein. Additionally, we provide the possibility that genetic distance reflects geographic distance through historical gene flow, or adaptation in the absence of historical gene flow. Nevertheless, our explanations can be more rigorously examined and further refined through additional observations and various population genetic analyses. In particular, we suggest that other accessible populations of the genus Eranthis should be included in future studies to better characterize the intriguing population dynamics of this genus.