We walked along a footpath from Dry Sandford that entered woodland. There were a few Himalayan Balsam on the nearside of the wood but when we came out on the far side the Himalayan Balsam had taken over.
The name 'Himalayan Balsam' sounds calming and the flowers are attractive. Bees love them as they produce large amounts of nectar. They dwarf other plants and get all the light, like stinging nettles and bracken (native species).
Try to press a Himalayan Balsam seedpod and it explodes with such force you get a shock - scattering seeds everywhere.
They are an alien species, and will easily take over - best pulled up when they are not in seed or the seeds fly everywhere.
