Abstract
Impatiens walleriana is one of the world's most widely grown ornamental plant species. It has repeatedly escaped from cultivation and usually can be found naturalized in secondary forests, coastal thickets, forest gullies, riversides, roadsides and damp shady places. When established it often forms dense and large stands in the understory of secondary forests and plantations that successfully outcompete native plant species and alter ecological succession. Currently, it is listed as invasive in China, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Galapagos, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Hawaii and the Canary Islands. Impatiens walleriana remains a source of great interest among gardeners and breeders, and new hybrids and varieties are developed every year, facilitating the introduction and spread of this species into new areas and thus increasing the likelihood that further invasions will take place.