Who can forget the carefree days of their youth, middle age or dotage when no wander through the summer countryside was complete without splitting open a Policeman’s helmet?
Or, to put it another way, splitting open the pod of a Himalayan balsam plant.
That delicious elastic tension, that exciting application of pressure, the sudden satisfying pop and expulsion of seed were surely Nature’s way of gently suggesting Humankind should invent bubble-wrap.
Not any more, though.
The invasive species is accused of all manner of crimes, from blocking the light of more deserving native flora (bluebells, for example, stinging nettles, bindweed and ragwort), to reducing ecological value, causing soil erosion, and even poisoning its neighbours.
Fortunately, no-one has yet thought to accuse Gnome’s hatstand (as it's also called for its startling resemblance to a gnome’s hatstand) of stealing jobs or sponging off Benefits.
Jumping Jack, as some like to call it (owing to its rapid spread), was introduced from Kashmir to Britain at Kew Gardens in 1839 by John Forbes Royle. It was later marketed as a 'Herculean' and cheap alternative to the pricey orchids of the upper class, and first recorded as having outstayed its welcome in Hertfordshire and Middlesex some 26 years later.
It makes itself particularly at home in damp, shaded, and riverine environments, often to the exclusion of everything else.
This summer, in a renewed campaign against the vigorously upthrusting, succulently stemmed, pink-flowering plant (known also as Kiss-me-on-the-mountaintop for reasons unguessable), the charity Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust is seeking help from the public to uproot and dispose of it.
Volunteers should assemble at the steps down to the cycle track from Ferry Road opposite Clark Avenue (and on the other side of the road, beside the George Heriot's Sports Ground; see Google-map link below). Balsam yankers will work towards Fiveways Junction. Gloves will be provided. Bring your own long trousers, long sleeves, sturdy shoes and proper nouns.
Times and dates for your diary: 6.30–8.00pm, Thursday 24 July AND Monday 4 August.
[Top image from Geograph, Creative Commons; all other images Wikipedia, Creative Commons.]
