Nava Tabak gave a very interesting talk about the potential of Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) invading New England. The ISW has posted about this species several times before, but always in the context of it invading Europe. Turns out it's already naturalized in parts of New England. Nava noted that Himalayan balsam has very similar habitat requirements to our two local native species of Impatiens, I. capensis and I. pallida, but grows taller and faster, and its seeds are more tolerant of dry conditions. Luckily it's easy an annual species, and easy to pull out, so they've already started control projects to get rid of patches in Farmington, Maine.
Bonus points to Nava for color-coding her graphs using the flower color of each species :-).
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