Jewelweed
Spotted (Impatiens capensis)
Pale (Impatiens aurea)

Other Names: Touch-me-not, Quick-in-hand, Jewelweed, Spotted Jewelweed, Spotted Touch-me-not, Wild Touch-me-not, Wild-Impatients, Wild Balsam, Balsam-weed, Impatiens pallida, Pale-touch-me-not, Pale Jewelweed, Slipperweed, Speckled Jewels, Wild Celandine

Habitat: Annual native to North America from Newfoundland to Saskatchewan south to Alabama and Georgia, Naturalized in Britain. Found growing in lowlying, damp, rich soil, beside banks of rivers, streams and canals, in moist woodlands and damp localities. Cultivation is fairly easy Jewelweed succeeds in any moist well-drained humus rich soil and prefers a cool shady spot. The stems are succulent smooth and tall, reaching 5 ft. or more and branching, with swollen joints. Leaves are thin, oval, scaloped toothed, and light green in color, showing a brilliant silvery appearance when immersed in water, or covered in dew. The slipper-shaped flowers have long recurved tails and hang from a short peduncle or stalk from the leaf axils. Pale Jewelweed being a pale-yellow, those of the Spotted Jewelweed, orange-yellow, crowded with dark spots, hence its common name Spotted touch-me-not. The oblong seed capsules of both species will when ripe, explode at the slightest touch, scattering the seeds widely hence the name Touch-me-not. Most of the popular names refer to this habit, others to the shape and color of the flowers which bloom from June to September. Gather the young edible shoots in spring and the medicinal stems and leaves as flowers bloom.

Properties: Jewelweed was used extensively by Native Americans for food and Medicine. The succulent young stems are said to be edible when cut up and cooked in three changes of water, some say they taste like green beans. The plant contain large amounts of calcium oxalate crystals which are poisonous if eaten raw but are destroyed by thorough cooking. The whole plant is cathartic, diuretic, emetic and purgative, it should not be used internally without cooking. It is used externally, the soothing sap of the plant is medicinal and a proven remedy for poison ivy rash and nettle stings as well as a fungicide in the treatment of ringworm, skin diseases, warts, burns, cuts, corns, and haemorrhoids. It is also used as an excellent hair rinse for itchy scalps.

CLICK HERE TO FIND MANY JEWELWEED PRODUCTS!

TRY THIS RECIPE

For Poison Ivy: chop and boil tops and stems for 20 min. strain and freeze liquid in ice cub tray. Rub on the skin before and after going into areas that might be infested with Poison Ivy.