''Impatiens capensis'', the orange jewelweed, common jewelweed, spotted jewelweed, jewelweed, spotted touch-me-not, or orange balsam, is an

annual plant An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. Globally, 6% of all plant species and 15% of herbaceous plants (excluding trees and shrubs) are ...

in the family

Balsaminaceae The Balsaminaceae (commonly known as the balsam family) are a family of dicotyledonous plants, comprising two genera: ''Impatiens'', which consists of over 1000 species, and '' Hydrocera'', consisting of 1 species. The flowering plants may be an ...

that is native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. It is common in bottomland soils, ditches, and along creeks, often growing side by side with its less common relative, yellow jewelweed (''I. pallida'').

Description

Jewelweed is a

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

plant that grows tall. It often branches extensively. The round stems are glabrous (smooth) and succulent, and semi-translucent, with swollen or darkened nodes on some plants. The leaves, which measure up to long and across, are alternate on the upper stems and opposite on the lower stems (when present). The leaves are

ovate Ovate may refer to: * Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe * Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd * Vates or ovate, a term for ancient Celtic bards ...

to elliptic, simple, and have shallow, rounded teeth on the margins. The seed pods have five valves which coil back rapidly to eject the seeds in a process called

explosive dehiscence Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part. Structures that op ...

or ballistochory. This reaction is where the name 'touch-me-not' comes from; in mature seed pods, dehiscence can easily be triggered with a light touch. The plant blooms from late spring to early fall. The flowers are long, orange (sometimes blood orange or rarely yellow) with a three-lobed corolla; one of the calyx lobes is colored similarly to the corolla and forms a hooked conical spur at the back of the flower. Plants may also produce non-showy

cleistogamous Cleistogamy is a type of automatic self-pollination of certain plants that can propagate by using non-opening, self-pollinating flowers. Especially well known in peanuts, peas, and pansies, this behavior is most widespread in the grass family. H ...

flowers, which do not require cross-pollination.

Pollination

Nectar spurs are tubular elongations of petals and sepals of certain flowers that usually contain nectar. Flowers of ''I. capensis'' have these nectar spurs. Nectar spurs are thought to have played a role in plant-pollinator coevolution. Curvature angles of nectar spurs of ''I. capensis'' are variable. This angle varies from 0 degrees to 270 degrees. The angle of the nectar spur is very important in the pollination of the flower and in determining the most efficient pollinator.

Hummingbirds Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...

are major pollinators. They remove more pollen per visit from flowers with curved nectar spurs than with perpendicular nectar spurs. But hummingbirds are not the only pollinators of ''I. capensis''.

Bees Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

, especially

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only Extant taxon, extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct r ...

s play an important role in pollination as well. Due to hummingbirds and bees, the pollination of ''I. capensis'' is very high.

Distribution

''Impatiens capensis'' was transported in the 19th and 20th centuries to England, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Finland, and potentially other areas of northern and central Europe. These naturalized populations persist in the absence of any common cultivation by people. This jewelweed species is quite similar to ''

Impatiens noli-tangere ''Impatiens noli-tangere'' (touch-me-not balsam; Latin ''impatiēns'' 'impatient' or 'not allowing', and ''nōlī tangere'' 'do not touch': literally 'be unwilling to touch') is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Balsaminaceae found in damp ...

'', an ''Impatiens'' species native to Europe and Asia, as well as the other North American ''Impatiens''. No evidence exists of natural hybrids, although the habitats occupied by the two species are very similar. In the

State of Washington Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

, ''I. capensis'' is considered a class-C

noxious weed A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is harmful to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or lives ...

due to its rapid spread and tendency to outcompete native jewelweeds. It has also formed a hybrid species with the native jewelweed ''

Impatiens ecornuta ''Impatiens ecornuta'', the spurless touch-me-not or western touch-me-not, is an Annual plant, annual flowering plant native to the northwestern United States and British Columbia in Canada.potherb Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by their petioles and shoots, if tender. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad gree ...

; eating too much is not recommended as the plant contains

calcium oxalate Calcium oxalate (in archaic terminology, oxalate of lime) is a calcium salt of oxalic acid with the chemical formula or . It forms hydrates , where ''n'' varies from 1 to 3. Anhydrous and all hydrated forms are colorless or white. The monohydr ...

crystals. The seeds are also edible, and probably best before exploding.

Medicinal

Along with other species of

jewelweed ''Impatiens'' is a genus of more than 1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the tropics. Together with the genus '' Hydrocera'' (one species), ''Impatiens'' make up the family Balsaminace ...

, the juice of the leaves and stems is a traditional Native American remedy for skin rashes, including

poison ivy Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus '' Toxicodendron'' native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, '' Toxicodendron radicans'', poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate s ...

. The effectiveness of its use to prevent the development of a rash after short-term exposure to poison ivy has been supported by peer-reviewed study, and is likely due to the plant containing

saponin Saponins (Latin ''sapon'', 'soap' + ''-in'', 'one of') are bitter-tasting, usually toxic plant-derived secondary metabolites. They are organic chemicals that become foamy when agitated in water and have high molecular weight. They are present ...

s. These studies also found that some individuals have a sensitivity to jewelweed which can cause a more severe rash. The stem juice has also been used to treat

athlete's foot Athlete's foot, known medically as ''tinea pedis'', is a common skin infection of the feet caused by a fungus. Signs and symptoms often include itching, scaling, cracking and redness. In rare cases the skin may blister. Athlete's foot fungus ...

; its

fungicidal Fungicides are pesticides used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in losses of yield and quality. Fungicides are used both in agriculture and to fight fungal infections in animals, ...

qualities have been scientifically verified.

Etymology

The leaves appear to be silver or 'jeweled' when held underwater, which is possibly where the jewelweed name comes from. Another possible source of the name is the color and shape of the bright robin's egg-blue kernels of the green projectile seeds. Both the genus name ''Impatiens'' ("impatience" in Latin) and common name spotted touch-me-not refer to how its seeds when ripe pop open on touch. The species name ''capensis'', meaning "of the cape", is actually a misnomer, as Nicolaas Meerburgh was under the mistaken impression that it was native to the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

, in southern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Gallery

File:Jewel Weed Impatiens capensis Leaves and Flower 2600px.jpg, Leaves and flowers File:Jewel Weed Impatiens capensis Creek Side 3200px.jpg, Jewelweed growing on a creek side File:Potapsco fg13.jpg, Flower File:2017-09-02 16 32 48 Jewelweed in flower just after rain with water beading on the leaves (hence the name 'Jewelweed') along a walking path in the Franklin Farm section of Oak Hill, Fairfax County, Virginia.jpg, Leaf showing beads (jewels) just after rain

References

External links

Jewelweed
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2462343 capensis Flora of Northern America Plants described in 1775 Anxiolytics