The Jeweled Thicket

Spotted Jewelweed or Touch-Me-Not

(Impatiens capensis)

There is a whole thicket of these colourful critters blooming in the moist earth along the creek in the woods, and we were happy to find them this past weekend.

Jewelweed is a wild herbal with known medicinal benefits, and it has been used by indigenous groups for centuries. They used infusions made with the leaves to treat measles and fevers, poultices of bruised stems for the pain and itching of skin ailments like poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac. The plant contains compounds which neutralize uroshiol, the chemical causing contact dermatitis, and it is a fine addition to one's medicine chest.

The plant is also an important nectar source for hummingbirds, and they are usually about when it is in bloom. When hummers reach into the bell-shaped blooms with their long beaks and brush up against nearby seed pods, the pods explode, propelling seeds some distance into the air, hence the common name, Touch-Me-Not.

For years, I cultivated jewelweed in my garden, and thanks to its exploding seed pods, it came up everywhere. Keeping it in check was quite an undertaking, and I eventually removed it from the garden altogether. I have just harvested seeds from the thicket in the woods and am about to give the species another try.

Jewelweed is cheerful stuff, and I like the freckled faces on the flowers when the plants are in bloom. In addition to being a "tried and true" wild medicinal, it provides nourishment for hummers, bees and other insects, and that makes it a clear winner in my book. Here we go again!