Himalayan Balsam
Impatiens glandulifera
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Type
Plant: INNSStatus
Invasive
CommonWidespreadSeason
Summer
Autumn Anywhere along the towpath verges and in the hedgerows.
Native to the Himalayas (as the name suggests), Himalayan Balsam was introduced over here in 1839 as a garden and hothouse plant for its pretty, ornamental flowers, but soon escaped into the wild and became naturalised.
Also called Indian Balsam, it's now abundant along riverbanks, canals and ditches, especially close to towns.
Incredibly fast-growing, it spreads quickly and invades wet habitats at the expense of other native flowers.
This large annual, which can grow up to 2m in height, also has explosive seed pods which further aid its aggressive spread by sending the seeds into waterways, causing additional dispersal downstream.
It has large bright pink bonnet-shaped flowers, which are followed by hanging green seed pods.