Field Guide to Noxious and Other Selected Weeds of British Columbia
Himalayan Balsam
(a.k.a. Policeman's Helmet)
(Impatiens glandulifera)
- annual succulent herb with upright, hollow, much-branched purple-tinged stems growing 0.6 to 2.0 metres tall. Opposite to whorled oblong to egg-shaped stalked leaves are saw-toothed on the margins. Flowers vary from white to pink to reddish and are shaped much like an English policeman's helmet.
- seed capsules "explode" at maturity to release hundreds of tiny seeds
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