Policeman's helmet
Impatiens glandulifera · Aquatic plants
Whole plant · Photo: Kai Löhr / CC BY
Also called Ornamental jewelweed, Himalayan balsam
State noxious weed listing
- Idaho: Early detection
- Oregon: B list
How to identify Policeman's helmet
- Tall annual 3 to 10 feet with hollow, jointed, reddish stems
- Toothed leaves opposite or in whorls of three, with small red glands at the base
- Pink to purple helmet shaped flowers
- Seed pods that burst when touched and fling seeds
Similar plants
Native jewelweeds are under about 3 feet tall with yellow or orange flowers and alternate leaves.
Growth profile
| Growing season | Sprouts in spring, flowers July to October and dies at frost, leaving bare soil. |
|---|---|
| Starts growing | Spring |
| Light | Part shade to full sun |
| Depth | Moist banks |
| How it spreads | Seeds thrown up to about 20 feet and carried by water |
| Habitat | River and streambanks, gravel bars, pond edges and wet woods, mostly at low elevations west of the Cascades. |
Why it matters in a lake
Crowds out native plants, then dies in fall and leaves banks bare and prone to erosion. Shallow roots make it easy to pull before seed pods form.
Where it is found
- Idaho: Rare
- Oregon: Occasional
- Wyoming: Not recorded
Classification
| Kingdom | Plantae |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Tracheophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Ericales |
| Family | Balsaminaceae |
| Scientific name | Impatiens glandulifera |
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Poison hemlockNeed a hand?
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