THIS IS A DRAFT
The species account below is an early version, drafted around 2003. It has been provided here to aid understanding, but please be aware it may not fully tally with the up-to-date map and statistics shown below.
Impatiens glandulifera
Indian Balsam
Species Details
Indian Balsam is a newly established annual of river banks, canal sides, wet woods and damp disturbed ground. It is frequent and locally abundant throughout the lowland parts of our area but thankfully only rare in the upland parts. Typical localities are Robin Wood (SK0094), the River Rother at Beighton (SK4483), the River Trent at Trent Lock (SK5031) and Drakelow Power Station (SK2220). It was originally introduced into this country from the Himalayas as a garden ornamental but escaped by means of its copious seed production into more natural settings. Once out of gardens it became a pernicious weed of wetlands, and the bane of conservationists, swamping out and replacing natural communities over large areas (Charter 1997 & 1999).