What is jewelweed (jewelweed)?
Jewelweed poses as a useless weed along the edges of the woods, but is definitely a wild medicinal plant you should never walk by without gathering. The two species of this tall plant are also commonly referred to as “garden balsam”, “whistle weed”, and the “touch-me-not.
Is spotted jewelweed toxic?
Is this Weed Toxic?: The genus of Impatiens contains napthoquinone, which may cause mild to moderate irritation of the digestive track. Why Is It a Noxious Weed? This is a new noxious weed for 2018. Spotted jewelweed has spread rapidly since it was first documented in Washington.
What happens if you eat too much jewelweed?
Don't eat large amount of jewelweed, even when cooked, because it can have a laxative effect. People prone to developing calcium oxalate kidney stones should avoid eating plants high in oxalates like jewelweed, even when cooked, recommends the Cleveland Clinic website. Plants for a Future: Impatiens Capensis -- Meerb.
Is jewelweed good for Poison Ivy?
The sap has also been shown to have anti-fungal properties and can be used to treat athlete’s foot. Jewelweed can be used as a remedy for poison ivy dermatitis (a rash from the oil urushiol).
What happens when you touch jewelweed?
3:199:38How To Identify Jewel Weed, Spotted Touch Me Not - Medicinal Plant ...YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAll you have to do is very lightly touch them and they will burst open. Which is why it gets itsMoreAll you have to do is very lightly touch them and they will burst open. Which is why it gets its name touch-me-not. Or spotted touch-me-not because of the spots along the flower.
Does jewelweed really work for poison ivy?
Results: Jewelweed mash was effective in reducing poison ivy dermatitis, supporting ethnobotanical use. However, jewelweed extracts were not effective; and soaps made of these extracts were effective but no more so than jewelweed-free soaps.
Is jewelweed good for anything?
Jewelweed has a long history of use in Native American medicine. When applied topically, sap from the stem and leaves is said to relieve itching and pain from a variety of ailments, including hives, poison ivy, stinging nettle, and other skin sores and irritations.
Can you drink jewelweed?
Make a strong tea of the jewelweed by simmering the stems and leaves in some water until the water level has reduced by half. Allow the tea to cool, then you can either blend the mixture to really extract all of the juices from the stems or you can just strain the tea at that point into ice cube trays for freezing.
Is jewelweed safe for dogs?
You can also try something called “jewelweed extract” to soothe poison ivy on dogs. This water-soluble extract from a plant called Impatiens balsamina might reduce the itching. Rubbing alcohol can also help take away the itch. You could also try applying a cold compress to the itchy areas.
Is jewelweed good for bug bites?
When they are in bloom, their yellow spotted flowers look like orchids. These plants can be your best friend if you are bothered by a bug bite or bee sting. The gooey stems can be cut open and applied directly to the affected area for almost immediate relief, similar to aloe vera.
What part of jewelweed do you use?
Overview. Jewelweed is a plant. The parts that grow above the ground are used to make medicine.
Can you make jewelweed salve?
For this batch of jewelweed salve, I used 2 tablespoons of beeswax to 1/2 cup infused oil in a glass jar. Heat the jar in a water bath on the stove until the beeswax is dissolved. Let cool slightly before adding in your essential oils (about 15 drops), and vitamin E to act as a preservative.
What does jewelweed smell like?
A plant by many other names would still not smell as sweet. Jewelweed has no fragrance, but many aliases. The names horns of plenty, kicking horse, touch-me-not, Jack-jump-up-and-kiss-me, snapweed, ear jewel, fire plant, silverweed are all intriguing. Silverweed speaks to a chameleon-like trait of this plant.
Are jewelweed leaves edible?
Jewelweed (Impatiens spp.) is a tenacious annual that grows in swampy and shady areas. While jewelweed is edible, you need to cook most parts of it to remove the potentially harmful compounds it contains before eating it.
What animal eats jewelweed?
Jewelweed seeds are consumed by a number of species of birds (including ruffed grouse, Chinese pheasant, and bobwhite quail) and rodents (including white-footed mice).
What kills poison ivy the fastest?
GlyphosateGlyphosate is applied directly to poison ivy foliage. The best control is achieved when glyphosate is applied on a warm, sunny day when plants are actively growing.
How do you prepare jewelweed for poison ivy?
3:408:18JEWEL WEED. HOW TO MAKE THE WORLDS BEST POISON IVY ...YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipYou hear folks is just cut it up smaller pieces here put it in the pot. And let it simmer. I'mMoreYou hear folks is just cut it up smaller pieces here put it in the pot. And let it simmer. I'm cutting the stalks. So they'll release some of that milky substance that they have on the inside.
How do I get rid of poison ivy fast?
Seven ways to get rid of poison ivy fastRubbing alcohol. ... Lather, rinse and repeat. ... Cold compress. ... Avoid scratching. ... Topical ointments. ... Over-the-counter oral antihistamines. ... Go to urgent care.
How do you cure poison ivy fast?
Apply an over-the-counter cortisone cream or ointment (Cortizone 10) for the first few days. Apply calamine lotion or creams containing menthol. Take oral antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl), which may also help you sleep better.
What does Jewelweed do?
Jewelweed has the ability to visually transform the dewdrops which get caught in its leaves into dainty little diamonds or crystals. This magical effect gives this precious botanical its name. Its tall knobby stem gives way to juicy leaves that stiffen and wilt according to the time of day and how thirsty the plant is.
What is the difference between orange jewelweed and pale yellow jewelweed?
Both the orange jewelweed (also known as spotted touch-me-not, referring to the fun habit of the pods to spring open and explode their seeds like fireworks) and the pale yellow variety have beautifully delicate orchid-like blossoms.
What is the best way to use jewelweed for bug bites?
In the wild, fresh jewelweed stem and leaf make an excellent poultice to apply to bug bites, rashes, and even cuts and scrapes. Once you correctly identify the plant, simply pull a little off and smash it between your fingers until it becomes a watery mash, then use it as a “green bandaid” on the affected skin.
Does Jewelweed grow in the forest?
Jewelweed often grows within close proximity of pois on ivy and is the perfect antidote for the inflammation and discomfort it can induce. Those who suffer from intense reactions to poison ivy will be happy to learn that jewelweed is its forest companion plant and effectively counteracts its heat and redness.
Can jewelweed be used after sun exposure?
Post-procedure, following a bout of bug bites or rashes, or after sun exposure or even radiation or any other potentially skin-damaging activity are all ideal times to use products containing jewelweed. It’s wonderful for especially sensitive skin that doesn’t respond well to synthetic products.
How to remove Spotted Jewelweed?
Spotted jewelweed has a shallow root system and can easily be hand-pulled when growing in damp soils. Make sure to remove the roots, especially in drier soils where plants may break off. If the plants do not have seed capsules, they can be crushed and left on site in a dry place to compost (King County Noxious Weed Control Program 2016--see link below). If plants have seed capsules, make sure to bag and put them in the trash (King County Noxious Weed Control Program 2016). It is important to properly identify spotted jewelweed plants before removal to avoid accidentally removing native Impatiens species. Plants will need to be identified while in bloom and care needs to be taken as native Impatiens may grow among spotted jewelweed plants.
Where does Spotted Jewelweed grow?
Spotted jewelweed grows primarily in western Washington on moist soils at low elevations and is found in forests, lake and pond edges, riverbanks, sloughs, disturbed wetlands and sunny roadside ditches or canals. View a county level distribution map of spotted jewelweed.
Why Is It a Noxious Weed?
This is a new noxious weed for 2018. Spotted jewelweed has spread rapidly since it was first documented in Washington. Plants are widespread in certain lowland areas and appear to still be increasing. Seedlings of spotted jewelweed can form dense carpets that can compete with native species and are difficult to control. Spotted jewelweed is able to hybridize with the Washington native, spurless jewelweed, Impatiens ecornuta.
Is there a biological control for spotted jewelweed?
There is currently no biological control agent used to control spotted jewelweed.
Can Spotted Jewelweed compete with native species?
Seedlings of spotted jewelweed can form dense carpets that can compete with native species and are difficult to control. Spotted jewelweed is able to hybridize with the Washington native, spurless jewelweed, Impatiens ecornuta.
What is a jewelweed plant?
As its common name implies, the jewelweed plant (Impatiens capensis) is a very beautiful plant with pretty jewel-like flowers in shades of yellow, orange, and red.
Where is Jewelweed found?
Jewelweed is a common herb often found in moist, semi-shady areas throughout northern and eastern North America. It often grows densely in forests that are in low, flood-prone areas, along rivers, and around the forested edges of marshes and bogs. Jewelweed also colonizes disturbed habitats such as ditches and roadsides.
What is the sap in Jewelweed?
Jewelweed is best known for the sap found in its stem and leaves. This sap is said to relieve itching and pain from a variety of ailments, including hives, poison ivy, bug bites, stinging nettle, sunburn, and other skin irritations. The sap has also been shown to have anti-fungal properties and can be used to treat athlete’s foot.
How long does Jewelweed live?
The jewelweed plant is a perennial, meaning it lives for several years and produces seeds each year until the plant finally dies. After its flowers fade, jewelweed plants produce shiny green seedpods, which split open when they are ripe to expel their seeds!
Why is Jewelweed called "touch me not"?
Jewelweed is often called touch-me-not because when the hairs are touched, they suddenly release their seeds. The jewelweed plant needs moisture to help it do this—that’s why jewelweed is usually found growing along waterways.
What happens when you walk by Jewelweed?
Fun game: When you walk by jewelweed in summer, the seeds violently explode onto anyone brushing by them. You can encourage this bursting by touching them. Not only is this a fun sensation, but you are also helping to spread the seeds and make new plants.
Can you use jewelweed for poison ivy?
Jewelweed can be used as a remedy for poison ivy dermatitis (a rash from the oil urushiol). Rub jewelweed juice on the poison ivy blisters and other parts of your skin that got exposed to the poisonous oil. This will help decrease the severity of the reaction & treat the area. You can also directly apply jewelweed sap or jewelweed leaves onto your skin if no jewelweed juice is available. Some people apply jewelweed juice to their skin prior to going into poison ivy areas—this helps create a protective barrier.
What is Jewelweed used for?
Garden uses include moist shade or woodland gardens, bog gardens, native plant gardens, pond or stream margins and in low spots. Dew or rain beads up on the leaves forming sparkling droplets that give rise to the common name of jewelweed.
How long are Jewelweed leaves?
The underside of the leaves are partly fuzzy. The leaves are 1.5-3.5 inches long. Native Americans used the watery plant juices to relieve itching associated with poison ivy, stinging nettle, and insect bites
When does Jewelweed bloom?
Jewelweed features 1" long, rear-spurred, cornucopia-shaped, orange to orange-yellow flowers with reddish-brown spotting. The flowers bloom from June to frost. Each flower dangles from a leaf axil on its own slender stalk. The flower has three sepals with the lower one extended backward as a spur.
What is the name of the flower that dries up on the leaves?
Dew or rain beads up on the leaves forming sparkling droplets that give rise to the common name of jewelweed.
How to Eat Jewelweed
Jewelweed produces seed pods that harmlessly explode when touched, sending the seeds flying through the air, which explains why it's also known as the touch-me-not plant. You can safely eat these small seeds, which taste similar to walnuts.
Everything in Moderation
Don't eat large amount of jewelweed, even when cooked, because it can have a laxative effect. People prone to developing calcium oxalate kidney stones should avoid eating plants high in oxalates like jewelweed, even when cooked, recommends the Cleveland Clinic website.
How to dry jewelweed?
You can dehydrate all above ground parts of the jewelweed plant by drying it. Dehydrate the plant parts as you would herbs in an electric or solar dehydrator The hang dry method can also be used to dry the wild medicinal weed.
How long do jewelweed leaves grow?
The leaves grow to reach about three inches long, and are more pale on their underbelly than they are on top.
What tribes use Jewelweed?
The Potawatomi, Meskwaki, Southern Cherokee, Omaha, and Chippewa tribes used jewelweed not only to alleviate the symptoms of poison ivy, oak, and sumac, but also as a treatment for stinging nettle rashes and various insect bites and stings. The plant is a fairly common ingredient in commercially produced poison ivy creams.
What is the name of the tall plant that explodes when touched?
The two species of this tall plant are also commonly referred to as “garden balsam”, “whistle weed”, and the “touch-me-not. The seed pods that are produced by jewelweed “explode” when touched – sending the little seeds inside flying everywhere to sprout and grow. Even though the explosions are harmless and fairly fun to watch, ...
When do jewelweed flowers bloom?
Flowers emerge on jewelweed plants around the early weeks of July, and remain until frost kills the plant in the fall.
Can you rub jewelweed on skin?
If you rub freshly picked and crushed jewelweed directly onto the skin after a bug bite or sting or coming into contact with poison ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac, the sense of relief comes almost instantly. You can also make a salve or wound wash out of either fresh or dried jewelweed to treat the same conditions.
Is Jewelweed a natural medicine?
Orange flowering jewelweed might be a more potent natural medicinal agent than the plants that boast yellow flowers – but your experience may vary. Both varieties of the whistle weed plant have a shallow root system, and are easy to remove from the ground. Jewelweed Leaves And Stems To Make A Wound Wash.
How to extract jewelweed?
Another common method is to make an extract as follows: fill a six-quart pot full of jewelweed stems and leaves, cover them with water, boil the water down to half its original volume, then strain out the plant material.
When was Jewelweed last mentioned?
Perhaps because of the risk involved in taking jewelweed internally, the last mention of the herb in The U.S. Dispensatory was in the 24th edition (Lippincott, 1947), in which it was stated to be “efficacious in the treatment of Rhus [poison ivy and poison oak] poisoning.”.
How to use Jewelweed Extract for poison ivy?
Lipton found that complete cures from poison ivy were effected in 108 of 115 people treated with jewelweed extract. The most common way to use jewelweed as a poison ivy treatment is to break off a stem, crush it, and rub the juice on the affected area.
How long does brown orange extract last?
The brownish-orange extract maintains its potency for less than two weeks under refrigeration; frozen into ice cubes, it can be stored indefinitely. The cubes can be rubbed directly on poison ivy eruptions or insect bites or stings, and the cold gives additional relief.
What to do with jewelweed seeds?
Use the seeds as you would walnuts to flavor cookies, bread, ice cream, and puddings. Collecting the seeds is a fun activity to share with kids. If your garden includes a shady, moist area, you may wish to establish your own bed of jewelweed.
What are the flowers of Jewelweed?
The small, showy flowers of both jewelweed species have long, nectar-filled spurs. Flowers of spotted jewelweed are orange with spotted throats and are usually borne in twos; those of pale jewelweed are pale yellow, one per flower stalk.
Where do jewelweeds come from?
The jewelweeds belong to the Balsaminaceae, a family of some 500 members, most of them native to the tropics and subtropics of Asia and Africa. The genus Impatiens includes the annual garden balsam (I. balsamina) from Asia as well as the tender perennial that everyone thinks of as “impatiens”, I. wallerana, from North Africa. Though these garden ornamentals are said to possess the same itch-curing properties as the pale and spotted jewelweeds, I have not found this to be true.
Where does Jewelweed grow?
The fruits of this plant are capsule-like and readily discharge seeds to a distance of up to 1.5 meters. Jewelweed naturally occurs in boggy areas. Due to its self-seeding capabilities, it has the tendency to form large colonies when moisture is constantly provided.
When does Jewelweed germinate?
Found in USDA zones 2 – 9, jewelweed tends to germinate once soils have warmed slightly in spring. Shoots quickly grow to produce a profusion of leaves and flowers in the summer. These remain present until autumn or winter, when the entire plant (including its tap root system) dies back.
How long does it take for Jewelweed to germinate?
They can take a few months, including a stratification period, to germinate successfully. This cold period should resemble conditions that the seeds normally experience in the wild.
Does Jewelweed spread quickly?
Large populations of this plant can compete with other native and non-native species and are known for their potential to eradicate colonies of the invasive garlic mustard ( Alliaria petiolata ). Jewelweed is also known for spreading quickly in anthropogenically disturbed areas, as long as the soil remains moist.
Can you plant jewelweed seeds outside?
You can either place the seeds directly atop outside soil or in an indoor/cold frame set-up if you wish to establish them prior to spring and/or in a more orderly manner. Once your jewelweed colonies are well-established outdoors, you need not collect the seeds and expose them to an artificially-induced cold period.
Is Jewelweed hardy?
Wim Rubers, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Jewelweed is remarkably easy to care for because it is extremely hardy and does not attract many pests . If you wish to limit the growth of your colonies, you will simply have to prune the shoots and prevent the plant from self-seeding copiously.
Is jewelweed poisonous?
Though it has several medicinal benefits, jewelweed may be toxic to some individuals, especially those with a predisposition to plant allergies. Interestingly, when used appropriately, the saponin-rich leaves can serve as a remedy to the same rashes they may cause.
What is a jewelweed?
The fruit is an elongated capsule, which, when ripe, bursts open at the slightest touch. Jewelweed resembles the closely-related pale touch-me-not ( Impatiens pallida ), which can be distinguished by its yellow flowers.
What is the flower of Jewelweed?
Jewelweed ( Impatiens capensis) As its common name implies, jewelweed ( Impatiens capensis) has a very beautiful flower. One of the sepals (outer parts of the flower) is modified into a large, pouch-like structure with a long spur, which gives the flower a pleasingly artistic shape.
How tall does Jewelweed grow?
A self-seeding annual, jewelweed typically grows two to five feet in height. It has weak, watery stems and alternately-arranged, oval-shaped leaves with toothed margins.
How to propagate Jewelweed?
Jewelweed can be propagated easily by direct sowing of fresh seed in early fall. Once established, a patch of jewelweed will maintain itself through annual seed production.
Is Jewelweed a native plant?
Jewelweed makes a lovely addition to native plant gardens that are located in moist, partially shaded areas. Not only are the flowers aesthetically pleasing, so are the hummingbirds, bumblebees, and butterflies that are attracted to the flowers.
Does Jewelweed have orange flowers?
The showy orange flowers of jewelweed must be cross-pollinated by insects or hummingbirds. However, jewelweed also has inconspicuous flowers that never open. These flowers (termed cleistogamous by botanists) fertilize themselves and produce seed without ever exchanging pollen with another flower. Cleistogamous flowers are very small (about 1 mm long) and are borne near the bases of the leaves. Research has shown that seeds produced by the showy, cross-pollinated flowers grow into larger, hardier plants, but the cleistogamous flowers produce seed at a much lower cost to the parent plant.
