Himalayan balsamHimalayan balsam

Name: Himalayan balsam
( Indian balsam, policeman )

Latin name: Impatiens glandulifera Royle (I. roylei)

Occurrence: Himalayan balsam is an introduced annual naturalised along riverbanks and ditches. It prefers moist soils but will grow anywhere. Himalayan balsam grows up to 3 m tall and is reputed to be the tallest annual plant found in the UK. A native of the Western Himalaya, it was introduced in 1839 and is now recorded throughout Britain. It grows rapidly, spreads easily, out-competes other vegetation and readily colonises new areas. Himalayan balsam is said to be relatively shade tolerant. When the plants die down in winter they leave large bare areas that are sensitive to erosion.


Biology: Himalayan balsam flowers from June to October. It is pollinated by bumble-bees. Seeds are set from August to October. There are 4-16 seeds per pod and each plant can produce 800 seeds.

The seeds have a chilling requirement for germination to occur. The entire seed population germinates synchronously in spring to form a dense stand.


Himalayan balsamPersistence and Spread: The seeds can remain viable for up to 2 years but Himalayan balsam does not form a persistent seedbank in soil.

The seedpods are dehiscent and explode when touched or shaken. The seeds are expelled up to 7 m from the parent plant. The seed is transported by water but can also be carried in mud by animals and man. Himalayan balsam has spread at the rate of 645 km²per year in the UK.


Management: The plant is shallow rooted and is easily pulled up. Control is by grazing and by cutting or pulling before seeding. Grazing by cattle and sheep should begin in mid-April and continue through the growing season. Repeated mowing will prevent it over-shading other vegetation. Plants should be cut to ground level by the end of June and before the plant flowers. Earlier cutting results in rapid regrowth of new stems that will flowers and set seed. Cutting above the lowest leaves stimulates the axillary buds to regrow.

An extensive stand of Himalayan balsam may reduce species richness by 25%. Controlling the weed leaves bare areas of soil that are subject to erosion, particularly steeply sloping land along riverbanks. Other invasive non-native species may benefit from clearance of the weed. It is therefore important after clearance to encourage the native vegetation to regenerate or to plant up the area with appropriate species.

Updated October 2007.

Further Information / Links:

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Comments

  1. Himalayan balsam is growing on both sides of the Thames at Sonning, and is also growing along the roadside near my home on the Hertfordshire/London borders. I have seen it on the Uxbridge Golf course off the A40 and in East Sussex. Does this need to be notified to local councils?
    - iris tolley 8---0-2005

  2. I wrote the above before reading the rest of the site. I now realise that this weed is growing in the Agency's back yard!
    - iris tolley 8---0-2005

  3. It is not a notifiable weed although it can be a problem in some areas. It is also a very attractive plant when in flower so I think unless it is a hazard you should just enjoy the flowers.
    - Bill Bond 8---0-2005

  4. well my motehr thought it so attractive she planted it in rural scotland on the lochside where I have not seen any more for almost 40 miles....too bad it is not notifiable as soon it will take over!
    - T 8---0-2005

  5. Can it be used for anything :- to heal, eaten, smoked, worn, to write on etc. ?
    We have tit everwher in West Yorkshire. It's taking over !
    - Rita Sheppard 8---0-2005

  6. It was introduced for its decorative value and I haven't come across anything else that it is used for so far.
    - Bill Bond 8---0-2005

  7. I found some growing along the Derwent in Derbyshire, where i was tending a local garden that ran down to the river. I made the seed capsules pop as i walked by, but the thing that struck me the most is how the flower heads are very Orchid-like and attract a lot of bees. Being a subscriber of the BBC, Gardening With Wildlife in Mind, I took some seeds for my own garden where i can observe and control its growth, but can this attractive plant really be that much of a nuisance?
    - Dick Bradshaw 0---1-2005

  8. Up here, in the north of scotland (Nairn), Himalayan Balsam seems very much at home. I think we're stuck with it, my bees like it so not all is lost. Plants propogate through many vectors, who's to say transportation by human hand is not as acceptable as any other means of spreading their species. 10,000 years ago their wasn't even a Scottish Bluebell here.
    - Martin Ashford 4---0-2006

  9. Here in the Calder Valley W. Yorks it is decimating huge parts of our beautiful woodlands. When a patch gets established it shades out and kills all the undergrowth. And it is a very effective traveller, continuing to spread everywhere. I would call it more than a nuisance - in terms of it's effect on our landscape I would call it a disaster.
    - Ric Taylor 6---0-2006

  10. I live in Canada, in Fredericton, NB. I had only seen this plant by the Forest Hill Cemetery growing alongside a small creek. I dug some up last year and planted it by my man-made pond and it came back this year. I enjoy its wild beauty but will not hesitate to yank it out should it crowd out its neighbours. Please note that my pond is circulated by a pump and not by a natural waterway so it should not spread overly much as the surrounding area is comprised of mostly sand.
    - Karen Cook 7---0-2006

  11. My friend brought this plant to our garden club meeting and asked if any one knew what it was. It volunteed in her flower garden. We live in northern Minnesota. I'm concerned about the seeds it "popped" into my hand....should I plant them?!
    - Dennie Holmbeck 8---0-2006

  12. This plant is a disaster for the UK and should be eradicated
    - Terry 9---0-2006

  13. I have just moved to Nottingham and found it growing in the dyke on my land and have discovered that the seeds have been water bourne and are now growing all along the water course up to 10 miles away. It pulls out very easily and i intent to irradicate it from my land - any volunteers for next spring?
    - Cathy 9---0-2006

  14. Have just identified the plants in a friends garden as Himalayan Balsam, after marvelling at it'sgrowth rate and beauty and only this evening it's popping seed pods! I think may be it would be best to advise my friend to remove it before it explodes any more seeds. I feel this plant should be notifiable as it's spread is bound to be rapid and widespread if the seeds can travel up to 7 meters from the plant and it produces so many,
    - Mel Beech 9---0-2006

  15. I manage a caravan park on the side of the River Severn in Worc and this weed is spoiling our river bank and walks blanking out the veiws and smoothering our native wild flowers and grasses. We are trying to plan eradication by hand pulling next year, it is such a huge problem.
    - Isabell Evans 1---1-2006

  16. Quite evident in my locality earlier this year - Cwmbran South Wales. The borders of a few local lakes were fair choked with the stuff!
    - Matthew Lewis 1---1-2006

  17. I agree this is an attractive plant - hence it was imported into this country. The UK is completely out-with the potential natural dispersal range for this species. I disagree with comment 8 above that human dispersal sould be an acceptable means of spreading any species - the huge problems caused worldwide as a result of this practice are a warning to all. Fundamentally, this species radically alters valuable native habitat creating mono-cultures along riverbanks and in other habitats. Along with Giant Hogweed, Japanese Knotweed, Rhododendron ponticum and a number of other lesser publicised species, Himalayan balsam is a serious problem for our watercourses.
    - Roger D 2---1-2006

  18. I found this plant in my garden, & it is adoredby the almost extinct Bumble Bee, which relies on its nectar for winter food. I think it can br a nuisance but it is so easily raked over when seedlings appear that private gardeners need not worry about being overun by them There appears to be to much detremental hype about this wonderfull plant. If the authorities are short of cash needed to keep waterway clear , thwn don't b;ame nature for makeing use of it.
    - George Dennis Forby 6---0-2007

  19. A consistent conversation piece, a supporter of wild bees in this agricultural desert of south lincolnshire and the children of all ages are being involved and educated.
    - Richard Fuller 6---0-2007

  20. i think that we have this weed along a beck near to where we live in Ulverston Cumbria . it has also been found in someones garden and she has asked for info about it in our local paper now i can tell her to get rid of it if it spreads as fast as some of you say.
    - christine blakeborough 7---0-2007

  21. I work in a woodland area (near Dunoon - Scotland) with a learning 'other' ability group; last week I walked through an area with HB growing in (with arms uncovered). I now have a large red patch on the lower forearm - does HB have a history of an irritable foilage/sap.
    - Victor Sandall 7---0-2007

  22. My bees love it. They bring loads of the white pollen back to the hive. It's a very good late forage plant for them
    - Margaret Murdin 0---1-2007

  23. I think more information about cycles are needed.
    As an example, carbon cycle or nitrogen cycle.
    - Harry 3---0-2008

  24. I have this plant growing between paving stones in my back garden and find it really difficult to get rid of. The roots go down between the cracks and if you stand on the plant and scuff it hard really bruising and bending the stem it revives a couple of days later reaching up for the sky again.

    This afternoon I have poured a mix of boiling water, salt and vinegar on and hope this might discourage them. Last year cut them down and put cement between the slabs but still have quite a number left, just wonder why the plants I want to keep are not as hardy!
    - Susan 7---0-2008

  25. we have just started our third year of pulling up the balsam. where we have cleared the river bank we have reseeded with a deep rooted grass to help with bank erosion its looking more like a british river now and less like a jungle. we have lots of native wild flowers nettles thistles comfry wild garlic but we should not tolerate
    this dreadful weed.
    - isabell evans 7---0-2008

  26. I have planted this in my garden after seeing it in a friends 'wild patch' in hers. The bees and other insects love it and as long as you monitor its growth i don't think that it is a problem in the common garden. Although i understand the concern around waterways.
    - Andrea Devine 8---0-2008

  27. Lots more growing around the Knottingley Kellingley area near Pontefract, one farm has a really large crop on the edge of his woods, spread there since last winter, nasty stuff!
    - Tony Hilbourne 9---0-2008

  28. Lots more growing around the Knottingley Kellingley area near Pontefract, one farm has a really large crop on the edge of his woods, spread there since last winter, nasty stuff!
    - Tony Hilbourne 9---0-2008

  29. This plant is not only attractive but has a lovely musky smell, no wonder it attracts bumble bees, Surely it is better than the ubiquitous nettle which seems to take over when this plant is destroyed. I am surprised it is so disliked and would love to see more of it around.
    - Angela Smith 9---0-2008

  30. doesn't the balsam have an unpleasant smell? haven't mention of this..
    - steve 9---0-2008

  31. I was introduced to this plant today growing along the River Cole. I wondered about any possible uses, medicinal or otherwise. According to http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/himalbals.htm the sap can be used to treat the rash caused by poison ivy, and a yellow dye extracted from the whole plant.
    http://garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Balsam says the seeds and shoots are used as food, while a comment on that page also mentions that the crushed leaves can be used to treat poison ivy rash, but points out this is unreferenced folk hearsay.
    - Krow 9---0-2008

  32. Along the Rochdale canal towpath it is crowding out nettles and brambles. This must affect our butterflies. I wish everyone walking passed would take at least ten flowerheads off or pull up 10 plants as they are very shallow rooted and come up easily.
    - Anne 9---0-2008

  33. I am surprised no one has mentioned another aspect of this flowering plant (overtaking all other vegetation fast by the Wye River near Hay On wye where I live) - it smells REVOLTING I think! I don't like it at anyway - l'm convinced it will be proven carcinogenic - there is something siniser about it!!
    - cat 9---0-2008

  34. I am surprised no one has mentioned another aspect of this flowering plant (overtaking all other vegetation fast by the Wye River near Hay On wye where I live) - it smells REVOLTING I think! I don't like it at anyway - l'm convinced it will be proven carcinogenic - there is something siniser about it!!
    - cat 9---0-2008

  35. I remember popping these seed pods as a child in rural Cambridge-shire 40+ years ago . It grows where I live now along with Japanese knot weed, the local nature group try to eradicate them as they say it destroys the natural flora which is (as far as I can see) primroses, dog rose and blackberries all of which flower early like most wild flowers. At this time of year (middle of September) there are still lots of butterflies and bees around and the only thing that are still in flower in the wild places are these plants. Bumble bees are endangered so why not leave areas just for these attractive plants so that late insects can feed instead of panicking over them, destroying them all and probably helping in the destruction of a species (bumble bees).
    - Julie 9---0-2008

  36. I forgot to say that Himalayan balsam can be distilled for its essential oil. Retails for approx
    - Julie 9---0-2008

  37. Sorry the brain has left for the evening. It is NOT an essential oil it IS an edible oil it is one of the Bach flower remedies for irritability and is one of the 5 ingredients of the Rescue Remedy. (Impatiens) It can be eaten, leaves and shoots cooked, seeds raw . And it has approx 47% more nectar than British flowers.
    - Julie 9---0-2008

  38. I was talking to a bee keeper who was annoyed as this plant is seen as a pest and in many cases removed from river banks. Do bees really love this plnt and why? What properties help the bees?
    - Stewart 1---1-2008

  39. This plant "invaded" my little town centre garden a few years ago, and the bumble bees started coming! I now keep 5-10 plants every year and it is a delight to watch the bees buzzing tirelessly all summer until dusk, feeding on the nectar. Surely this must be a good thing, with bees so much in decline. It is easy enough to pull up all the unwanted seedlings in the spring. Now I am reading that it is good for irritability I may make an infusion from it for my husband!
    - MV 1---1-2009

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