The way back

Himalayan Balsam 

On the way home from the first trip to the patch I came across something unusual. It was the Himalayan balsam or in Latin called Impatiens Glandulifera. These lovely looking pink flowers came to Britain in 1839 and although they look lovely they are an invasive species ( which means that it has come from another country and has been causing havoc throughout Britain.) When the Himalayan Balsam is flicked the seeds go everywhere and then it grows into the actual plant that is why there is so many in one area.This means that if there is just a single plant it can spread into many more this way and because of the problems it's causing in the UK this is NOT good. Anyway some of the mishaps include: contaminating river banks,contaminating land and it upsets the ecological balance. As you already know it is not supposed to be in the UK and in actual fact is supposed to be in  the Himalayas' ( in India.)

Himalayan Balsam seeds

To disperse the seeds from the plant the seeds need to be ready, so what happens is the seeds are a bit like coils which will uncoil and pop out the inside of the flower which sooner or later lands on the ground. Just like what happened to the seeds on the left. When the seeds uncoil it gives them the upper-hand since they travel quite far and it gives them their own space to grow and get even more Himalayan Balsam.




To find out more about invasive species go to http://www.plantlife.org.uk/campaigns/inns/avoid/