Family: Balsaminaceae

High Risk Traits:

• Naturalized in Hawaii, Jamaica, and Florida
  
• Congeneric weeds exist (I. platpetala, I. balsamina)
  
• Shade tolerant
  
• Produces viable seed
  
• Hybridizes naturally
  
• Minimum generative time: 1 year
  
• Intentionally spread by people as ornamental
  
• Unintentionally spread via mud on shoes
  
• Explosive seed dispersal (wind/mechanical)
  
• Prolific seed production (very small seeds)

Low Risk Traits:

• No evidence of garden, agricultural, or environmental weediness
  
• No spines, thorns, or burrs
  
• Not allelopathic or parasitic
  
• Palatable to deer (high browse damage)
  
• Non-toxic to animals and humans
  
• No fire hazard (moist habitat, succulent stems)
  
• Narrow soil requirements (not versatile)
  
• Not climbing, smothering, or thicket-forming
  
• No vegetative fragmentation
  
• No persistent seed bank (<2 years viability)
  
• Poor tolerance to cutting/mutilation
  
• Easily killed by herbicide