Orange Balsam
Orange Balsam - Impatiens capensis
Description
Medium to tall hairless plant to 1.2 metres. Leaves oval to lanceolate with a few coarse teeth, often rather wavy. Flowers orange, with large reddish brown spots 20 to 30 mm, shaped like the old policeman's helmet, with an incurved spur.
Identification difficulty
Habitat
Canal and river banks.
When to see it
June to September
Life History
Annual
UK Status
Fairly frequent in the Midlands and southern England.
VC55 Status
Fairly frequent Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 42 of the 617 tetrads.
Graham Calow
Basin Bridge Lane, Wykin
24 July 2015
Graham Calow
Wykin Canal
09 September 2010
Graham Calow
Witherley
01 August 2015
David Gould
G.U. Canal, Aylestone, Leicester.
25 August 2017
HAPeacock
River Soar - St Marys Mill
19 August 2012
Graham Calow
Wykin Canal
09 September 2010
Graham Calow
Basin Bridge Lane, Wykin
12 June 2015
emerging plant
Leicestershire & Rutland Map
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Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020
UK Map
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