Jewelweed

Jewelweed

Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis):

Jewell weed likes wet feet. It grows in moist if not standing water waste areas.  It prefers shaded areas out of direct all day sun.  It is unusual to see jewelweed growing as an individual standalone plant.  It usually grows in rafts that allow no other plants to penetrate its thicket.

The stems are crisp and juicy.  Some claim that the juice will prevent poison ivy if rubbed onto areas that have contacted the irritating oil; others use it as a healing salve for already erupted vesicles.

The name jewelweed comes from a description of the leaf when it is placed under water. If you turn the underside of the leaf upwards, the leaf takes on a mercuric sheen.  The plant is also known as touch-me-not.  This name derives from the ripened seed pods.  If you touch them, the seed envelope explodes catapulting the seed into the next county.  In England some people know the plant as Busy Lizzie.  Go figure.

Katrina BergmanJewelweed