Any Ideas?

[Louby]

Can anyone help me find out what this plant this is?

[Stuart]

Can anyone help me find out what this plant this is?

I can not find my Book on Plants

[Adi F]

Are they not Snapdragons

[Andy H]

Are they not Snapdragons

i must admitt i thought they where snap dragons

[wolves78]

dunno about it being a snap draggon

http://www.em.ca/garden/ann_antirrhinum_majus_brighton.html

[Louby]

Our initial thought was snap dragons, but the leaves are not right for snap dragons.

[Rustynailer]

Himalayan Balsam, realy nasty to British river systems, clogs the banks and prevents native plants growing, spreads by "explosive seeds", they are actually sprung loaded. Big pest if you let it out. Looks lovley and is fun for kids to hit with sticks, thats howcome its spreading across Europe at an allarming rate.

Russ

Here is a link:- http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0705/...layanbalsam.asp

Sorry about the spelling i can't be botherd to spell check after 12

Edited September 1, 2006 by Rustynailer

[Louby]

Himalayan Balsam, realy nasty to British river systems, clogs the banks and prevents native plants growing, spreads by "explosive seeds", they are actually sprung loaded. Big pest if you let it out. Looks lovley and is fun for kids to hit with sticks, thats howcome its spreading across Europe at an allarming rate.

Russ

Here is a link:- http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0705/...layanbalsam.asp

Sorry about the spelling i can't be botherd to spell check after 12

Thanks hun :lol: it has been bugging my dad for weeks he couldnt find out what it was! I knew NW would come through!

[crimsone]

Someone got there before me. It's a terrible terrible plant. It wreaks havoc in watercourses, but also in woodland, hedgerows, scrubland, and wherever the seeds land.

If you pull it out of the ground and drop it, it re-roots and continues growing. If you rip it out of the ground and place it somewhere high, It'll continue growing using its own rotting carcass as a food source.

Worse still, given the harsh climate it originally came from, it can grow virulently just about anywhere.

[Angel15]

Someone got there before me. It's a terrible terrible plant. It wreaks havoc in watercourses, but also in woodland, hedgerows, scrubland, and wherever the seeds land.

If you pull it out of the ground and drop it, it re-roots and continues growing. If you rip it out of the ground and place it somewhere high, It'll continue growing using its own rotting carcass as a food source.

Worse still, given the harsh climate it originally came from, it can grow virulently just about anywhere.

I have had three of these in my garden - I ripped them out thinking they were weeds, probably did the right thing for once!

[Tim B]

Himalayan Balsam

I always referred to them as "Police mans helmets" as a kid because the flowers resemble the old style police mans helmet if flipped down, and painted black..

Indeed they are a pest with natural river systems for spreading to seemingly ubiquitous levels and preventing other plants from growing, sure were fun to play with though.