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Balfour's touch-me-not (Impatiens balfourii)

Balfour's touch-me-not Common Names: Poor man's orchid, Kashmir balsam

Description: Introduced as an ornamental.

Habit: Herbaceous annual, grows to 1 to 2.5 feet in height.

Leaves: Simple, ovate-oblong, acuminate leaf apex (long leaf tip) with serrated margins.

Stems: Erect, simple or branched, translucent, pale green and glabrous.

Flowers: Showy, distinct pinkish-purple flowers. Flower petals are fused to form hood and twin lips, and a large spur. 4-8 flowers occur individually on long, erect pedicles (stalks).

Fruit and seeds: Ovoid seed. Fruit is linear to subclavate, glabrous, loculicidal with the valves dehiscing elastically and coiling. Seed is 0.25 - 0.3 cm and fruit is 2 - 4 cm long.

Habitat: Native to Asia and the Himalayan region. Found in upland forests, wetlands, grasslands, marshes and stream edges.

Reproduction: Rapidly by seed.

Similar species: May be confused with other Impatiens species.

Monitoring and rapid response: Preventing plants from going to seed is important. Cut or mow plants while in flower, prior to seed maturation. Herbicides for control are being explored.

Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Q-bank Comprehensive databases on Quarantine plant pests and diseases.

Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org).Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).


Common Name:

Balfour's touch-me-not

Scientific Name:

Impatiens balfourii

Family:

Balsaminaceae
(Touch-me-not)

Duration:

Perennial

Habit:

Herbs

USDA Symbol:

IMBA2