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Himalayan balsam

Himalayan balsam

Impatiens glandulifera

Identify the Himalayan balsam from a photo and log your finds with Florapass.

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How common: Very common

Invasive alien species – remove it if you can

Himalayan balsam is a very tall annual with thick, juicy stems and large pink to reddish flowers. Native to the Himalayas, it has spread widely in Europe and is often seen along rivers, ditches and other damp places. Its spring‑loaded seed pods help it spread quickly and make it a noted invasive plant.

Did you know?

  • Ripe pods burst at a touch and can throw seeds several meters.
  • Lower leaves grow in pairs, higher ones in circles of three.

About the species

Identification

Annual, usually 1–2 m tall. Stem thick, juicy and smooth, almost unbranched, often reddish, with slightly swollen joints. Leaves big and sharply saw‑toothed; lower leaves in pairs, higher leaves in circles of three. Flowers in upright clusters; each is large (to about 4 cm), pink to reddish‑purple, sometimes white, shaped like a hood with a long, thin nectar tube at the back. Seed pods are narrow and soft; when ripe they snap into five pieces and shoot the seeds away. Bigger and pink‑flowered, unlike the yellow/orange balsams. Flowers in Finland from July to September.

Plant group

Herbaceous plants

Habitat

yards and roadsides, shore

Flowering

Jul–Sep

About the habitat

Prefers moist, nutrient‑rich ground: riverbanks, stream and ditch margins, damp woods, reedbeds and waste ground near settlements. It struggles on dry, poor soils. Common in southern and central Finland, becoming rarer northwards; occasional in Lapland and absent from the northernmost Lapland.

Sources

Photo: Flocci Nivis, CC BY 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20220922 Bombus 01.jpg

Text: Pinkka: Maatalouslajintuntemus - Aitokaksisirkkaiset: Fabaceae, Lythraceae, Onagraceae, Sapindaceae, Linaceae, Geraniaceae, Balsaminaceae, Tropaeolaceae ja Cornaceae, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39158

Text: Pinkka: BIO-103 Eliöiden monimuotoisuus - Siemenkasvit: Carum-Gnaphalium, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39158

Text: Pinkka: Vieraslajien tunnistus - Palsamit, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39158

Text: Pinkka: Metsälajintuntemus - Koppisiemeniset, 2-sirkkaiset, Sapindaceae - Lentibulariaceae, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39158

Text: FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39158

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%A4ttipalsami

See also