With autumn commencing and winter rapidly approaching, it isn’t everyone’s go-to season to enjoy flowers. But don’t be fooled! The Arb is home to numerous plants that flower throughout autumn. One of the most exciting of these is Spotted Touch-me-not, also known as jewelweed (Impatiens capensis).
Standing two to five feet tall, jewelweed is a relatively unassuming herbaceous plant that enjoys growing in shaded conditions with soggy soil. It has ovular leaves with rounded notches along the margins. The flowers are orange or yellow and have a unique snapdragon-like shape with a narrow spur underneath for storing nectar.
Not excited yet? Well, jewelweed has a few distinctive characteristics that will make you want to rush out and find one for yourself. One feature of the plant is in its name. The leaves of jewelweed are hydrophobic, which means that when they are held underwater, they trap very thin bubbles along their surface, which interact with the light to give it a silvery or ‘jeweled’ appearance. Droplets of water on the surface of leaves also have this bubble, making the plant look covered in tiny jewels after a rainstorm, which might be how it got its name.
Jewelweed also has many practical uses, with a long history in Native American medicine. The sap of the plant’s leaves and stems contain saponins, which can relieve skin irritation, including from stinging nettle and poison ivy. I don’t recommend that you try it though, as some people have a sensitivity to it that can cause a worse rash.
Arguably the most exciting part of the plant is its seed pods. If they are properly ripe, they exhibit a unique seed-dispersal strategy. When the pods are lightly touched, they will pop open, ejecting the seeds far and wide, which is how the plant got the name ‘touch-me-not.’ Regardless of whether or not you’re a seasoned botanist, jewelweed is a lovely plant to enjoy while the rest of the world gets drier, browner, crunchier, and cold.
- Nico Bolling ’27, for the Cole Student Naturalists
Add a comment