Impatiens capensis Meerb.

Orange Jewelweed; Orange Touch Me Not; Spotted Touch Me Not

Herb

Annual

Vascular

Orange Jewel-weed is a native annual in the Touch-Me-Not family (Balsaminaceae). It can be found throughout most of Alabama. Orange Jewel-weed occurs in swamps, around beaver ponds, in seeps, in wet roadside ditches, and along streams. It is an annual from a tap root. The stems are 2-4 feet in height and branched above the middle. Stems are translucent green in floor, glabrous, succulent, and brittle. Leaves are alternate, glabrous, ovate to elliptical in outline, with toothed margins. Flowers are produced singly or in clusters of 2-3 from the axils of the upper leaves. The flowers are on long pedicels. The flowers are conical in shape and bright orange. Each flower consists of 3 sepals and 5 petals. Two of the sepals are small and the third forms the spur at the lower back of the flower. The fruit is a green capsule that splits explosively when touched, flinging the seed some distance. The seed are large, green or brown in color, angled, with a warty surface. Late in the season insignificant cleistogamous flowers are formed. These flowers never open, and form seed by self-fertilization. The common name “Jewel-weed” refers to the silvered appearance of rain or dew drops on the leaves. The common name “Touch-me-not” refers to the fruit which “explode” when touched, throwing the seed several feet. The species name “capensis” refers to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. When Meerburgh named the plant, he was under the mistaken impression that the specimen had come from the Cape Colony. Orange Jewel-weed has succulent stems containing a mucilaginous sap that has been used as a traditional remedy for Poison Ivy and other skin rashes. Simply break a stem and apply the cooling sap to the affected area. Orange Jewel-weed grows in the wettest of soils, often in shallow water. It can tolerate full sun or deep shade. Plants are best started from seed planted in the area where the plants are to grow.—A. Diamond

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Native FACW (NWPL)

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