Ivydene Gardens Adder's Tongue to Borage Wild Flower Families Gallery:
Balsam Family

Click on Underlined Text in:-

Common Name to view that Plant Description Page
Botanical Name to link to Plant or Seed Supplier
Flowering Months to view photos
Habitat to view further Natural Habitat details and Botanical Society of the British Isles Distribution Map

Balsam Family:-

The Balsam Family are "brittle hairless annuals, with fleshy stems and oval stalked, slightly toothed leaves. Their highly characteristic flowers have a broad lower lip, a small upper hood and a spur behind, often curved. The flower-stalks are usually fairly long, giving the whole blossom a Chinese-lantern effect. The seeds explode from the ripe cylindrical fruits." from Collins Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers by David McClintock and R.S.R. Fitter assisted by Francis Rose - ISBN 0 00 219363 9 - Eleventh Impression 1978

Balsam Family plant table with its Common Name - Botanical Name. Flowering Months Range. Habitat with link to that Wild Flower Gallery:-

Common Name

Botanical Name

Flowering Months

Habitat

Himalayan Balsam

(Indian Balsam)

Impatiens glandulifera

July onwards

This species is most frequent on the banks of waterways, where it often forms continuous stands, but is also established in damp woodland, flushes and mires. The tallest annual in Britain, its rapid growth can shade out even Urtica dioica. Lowland.

Flower on 28 November

Flowers in Kent in September

Foliage in East Kent in September

Form in September

Jewel-Weed

(Orange Balsam)

Impatiens capensis

July-September

An annual, thoroughly naturalised by rivers, canals and adjacent reservoirs. The seeds can be ejected from its capsules to a distance of a few metres, and can be dispersed by water. Lowland.

Small Balsam

Impatiens parviflora

June-September

This species is usually found as a well-naturalised alien in semi-natural woodland and plantations, especially along tracks, but it also occurs in N. and W. Britain along shaded river banks, and in E. Scotland on unshaded river shingle. There are also scattered records of casual plants in timber yards. Lowland.

Touch-Me-Not Balsam

Impatiens noli-tangere

July-September

Our only native Impatiens is an annual plant of nutrient-rich soils in damp but not waterlogged woodland, occurring on streamsides and in valley-side seepages. Lowland.