Flower ID, Thames Path, October 2017 (1 Viewer)

M

mathare

Well-known member

• Oct 10, 2017

• #1

I feel this is probably a bit of a stupid question given how many of these flowers there were on a walk from Petersham towards Kingston at the weekend, especially in the area between Ham and Teddington. That makes me think they are quite common and I should know what they are by now - but I don't.

Can someone enlighten me please?

Thanks
Mat

 

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Nutcracker

Stop Brexit!

• Oct 10, 2017

• #2

Himalayan Balsam Impatiens glandulifera. An invasive weed in Britain.

 

M

mathare

Well-known member

• Oct 10, 2017

• #3

Ok, there's no way I would have known that. Trust me to be quite taken with the flowers of an invasive weed though :-C

Thanks for the info Nutcracker

 

Andy Adcock

Worst person on Birdforum

• Oct 11, 2017

• #4

mathare said:

Ok, there's no way I would have known that. Trust me to be quite taken with the flowers of an invasive weed though :-C

Thanks for the info Nutcracker

Click to expand...

Choking river banks out in places, we sometimes see gangs of volunteers trying to remove it on the Trent.


A

 

S

Simon Wates

Well-known member

• Oct 11, 2017

• #5

mathare said:

Trust me to be quite taken with the flowers of an invasive weed though :-C

Click to expand...

Perfectly understandable, although exotic invasive flora is one of the most serious environmental issues globally, they're all beautiful plants in their own way. All are native to somewhere and will form part of a healthy ecosystem

 

Nutcracker

Stop Brexit!

• Oct 11, 2017

• #6

Simon Wates said:

All are native to somewhere and will form part of a healthy ecosystem

Click to expand...

Yep! That's why it's always important to specifiy a location when talking about 'invasive'.

I've seen some info sites (including wikipedia) go on about a species as if it is solely an invasive, probably from outside the solar system, and had no place on earth at all