NATIVE RANGE: Southern Asia (Himalaya)

FIRST FINDING IN SLOVENIA: 1935

PATHWAYS: horticulture

POSSIBLE TO FIND: May – November

FLOWERING SEASON: July – October

DESCRIPTION: An annual plant with a fleshy, glabrous, branched stem. Leaves spiralling, broadly lanceolate. Leaf margin finely serrated, with pink tips on the teeth. Pale yellow flowers with a darker throat and measuring 1-2 cm including the straight spur, are held in loose racemes at the tip of stalks. Fruits are club-shaped capsules, 1.5–2 cm long.

HABITAT: Shady sites along forest edges and in the understory in moist forests, also in shady ruderal sites.

STATUS: Widespread all over Europe but practically absent in the Mediterranean area. In Slovenia, most common in central Slovenia, locally also found on other lowland and hilly parts of Slovenia. 

SIMILAR SPECIES: European native touch-me-not balsam (Impatiens noli-tangere) also has yellow flowers, but these are brighter yellow and larger, 2–3 cm across, and have a recurved spur. In Europe, jewelweed (I. capensis), is increasingly becoming established. This species is similar to touch-me-not balsam in most respects, but has orange, rather than yellow flowers. Both species have toothed leaf margins with tiny white tips on the teeth.

SOURCE: Field Guide to Invasive Alien Species in European Forests