Hello, happy March everyone! One month closer to spring. While everyone else seems to be thawing out, it's still pretty cold here. Winter seems to hang on as long as it can up here but that's okay. It makes Spring all the more exciting! Today, I wanted to talk about one of my favorite plants: Impatiens capensis. It goes by many lay names but Spotted jewelweed is my favorite.
Note: This is a photo of Spotted jewelweed (Impatiens capensis). It's very common where we live!
I was going to do a writeup on the Family but for once, there's more information on the individual than the Family itself. Impatiens capensis is in the Balsaminaceae Family. I was surprised to find out that my jewelweed friend is the only member of this family I have recorded! I think that's pretty neat. It's native to North America although it was transported in the 19th and 20th centuries to England, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Finland, and possibly other areas of northern and central Europe. They prefer bottomland soils, ditches, and life near creeks. I usually find them near the river and streams where I live.
As I mentioned before this plant goes by many names: common jewelweed, spotted jewelweed, orange jewelweed, spotted touch-me-not, and orange balsam. I prefer spotted jewelweed because I love it for its orange color and spotted pattern. Fun fact about me: I hate it when they call anything "common _____". I feel like it takes away the plant/creature's individuality. But anyway, on to our description!
Jewelweed grows anywhere from 3-5 feet tall. The leaves are alternate on the upper stems and opposite on the lower stems, if there are any leaves at all. The leaves can be more of an oval shape or eclipse shape depending on the individual but all are simple, and have shallow rounded teeth on the end of each.
Note: Here is a photo of the leaves! See the teeth? Also pictured is what I think is a flower bud beginning to form. I also included a photo of the stems in case anyone was interested in that too!
I learned a possible reason for the name jewelweed! Apparently when you hold the leaves underwater they appear silver or jeweled. Another possible reason could be the bright coloration and shape of the kernels of the projectile seeds.
Their seeds are probably the coolest part, at least to me. The seed pods have five valves which coil back rapidly to eject the seeds! It's called explosive dehiscence. It's also why they're called touch-me-nots. I've done it more than once. Touch the flower at the right time and POP! there go the seeds! It's a little thing but something I feel happy to have experienced.
The flowers are 2-3cm long and range in color from yellow to orange. Something I learned from my research is that they can also produce what are called cleistogamous flowers which don't need to be cross-pollinated. They are less showy than the bright flowers that the pollinators get their nectar from. Plus, the absence of needing cross-pollination means that the plant can self-pollinate if it needs to.
Note: Here's a photo of the flower itself! I adore the colors and spots and don't have to look too hard to find them each year due to their brightness.
They have a structure inside their flowers called nectar spurs which usually have nectar. Their angle, which can range from 0-270°, is very important for their pollinators. In fact, hummingbirds are one of their biggest pollinators and it's been noted that they gather more nectar from curved spurs than perpendicular ones! Bees are also very important pollinators. I see them every year and I especially love it because you just see the flower with a little bee butt poking out!
Note: This is an image of those spurs, I'm pretty sure. I had always wondered their purpose and today I found out!
Finally, there are a few different uses for this plant. The young shoots can be boiled but you have to change the water twice. They are referred to as potherbs, which is something I'd never heard of before. Leaf vegetables that can be eaten raw are often called salad greens. On the other hand, leaf vegetables that need to be cooked first are called potherbs! Don't eat too much though. They contain calcium oxalate crystals. In large doses it can produce sores and numbing on ingestion and may even be fatal. You can also eat the seeds, preferably before they explode!
The juice of the leaves and stems is a traditional Native American remedy for skin rashes (including poison ivy). This is an extra fun fact because they usually grow near poison ivy! It's believed that it's the saponins that help with the rash. You should test it first though because some people are sensitive to jewelweed and it can actually make the rash worse. You can also use the juice as a fungicide!
It was a lot of fun learning new things about a plant I see every single year. It's a Fall plant but I still look forward to it all year. Its vibrant coloration and spots, seed explosion feature, and common sightings make it one of my favorite plants to see! As always I hope you learned something and had a good time doing so. Until next time!
Yours,
Jade
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