This evergreen, perennial species has an erect, succulent, brown stem resembling wood.

These unusual flowers vary in colour and size, but those of the clone most common in cultivation in Europe and America ('African Princess') are usually scarlet red and yellow and can reach a length of about 3.5 centimetres (1.4 in).

The epithet niamniamensis comes from the onomatopoeic name Niam-Niam which is sometimes used for the Azande people who live in the south-eastern part of the Central African Republic.

[1] It grows in moist and shaded bushlands, at an elevation of 350–2,400 metres (1,150–7,870 ft) above sea level.

Impatiens niamniamensis has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.