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Balsam family (Balsaminaceae)
Annual plant, glabrous, reaching heights of 10-100 cm. Succulent stem, glassy-looking. Leaves arranged helically, of length 4-12 cm, elongate-ovate, highly toothed on margins, short-stalked. Flowers zygomorphic, up to 1 cm long, pale yellow, 4-10 in each erect raceme. Calyx with short, straight spur. Corona 5-petalled. Fruit a green capsule which explodes on being touched, scattering seed over longish distances. Flowers: Jun.-Oct.
Of Asian origin. Grows on mesic, fertile soils, mainly in forest-edge communities and along roadsides. An invasive alien plant species.
Descriptions devised by the team at the Independent Department of Forest Botany, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, i.e. L. Witkowska-Żuk, K. Marciszewska, W. Ciurzycki, A. Obidziński and P. Zaniewski.
