SPRINGHOUSE FARM JOURNAL
By Heather Lovett
Mention the name "Impatiens" and the image that immediately comes to mind is the shade-loving annual Impatiens wallerana, known affectionately as busy Lizzy. Busy indeed, for this colorful East African native blooms nonstop all summer long in window boxes, hanging baskets, and virtually every flower bed with the slightest amount of shade. In fact, busy Lizzy is so popular and so widely planted that, frankly, she’s become a bit of a bore.
There is nothing boring, however, about her wild North American cousin jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), a.k.a. touch-me-not, horns-of-plenty, Jack-jump-up-and-kiss-me, silverweed, lady’s-eardrop, kicking-colt, speckled jewels, weathercock, shining grass, snapweed, brook celandine, and at least 20 other names, each hinting at an interesting aspect of the plant’s appearance or habits.
Unlike the tireless busy Lizzy, jewelweed waits until late summer and fall to bloom, but it’s a show well worth waiting for. In damp, shady places all over eastern North America, the bright, red-speckled orange flowers dangle like exotic earrings from translucent stems, resembling, on close inspection, miniature cornucopias or horns of plenty, open on one end and narrowing to a curved spur on the other.
The construction of the flowers makes them difficult to pollinate, a fact noted by Neltje Blanchan in her book "Nature’s Garden," subtitled "An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors." Although loaded with nectar (a single bloom produces almost 3 milligrams every 24 hours), jewelweed hides her sweet liquid deep inside the curved tail of the spur.
Hummingbirds, with their long, flexible tongues, are ideally suited to the task, and according to Ms. Blanchan, this is why the plants will "never attain perfection" in (hummingbird-less) England. Bees certainly visit jewelweed too, and it’s comical to watch them struggling in and out of the flowers, but they are not as efficient at spreading the pollen.
As an insurance policy, jewelweed has a store of cleistogamous (closed) flowers, which have no petals and do not open but are able to self-pollinate and produce viable seeds. Although these hidden flowers lack the showiness of their orange counterparts, they insure the plant’s survival in lean years when pollinators are scarce.
Many of jewelweed’s alternate names, such as touch-me-not, snapweed, kicking-colt, and Jack-jump-up-and-kiss-me (as well as the genus name Impatiens) reflect another interesting quirk related to reproduction. When the seed capsules become ripe they open explosively and throw the seeds some distance from the plant, a mechanism that can be set in motion (to the delight of many a schoolchild) at the slightest touch. Both jewelweed and busy Lizzy belong to the "Touch-Me-Not" family of plants, most members of which share this trait.
Another characteristic of jewelweed that fascinates youngsters (and the young at heart) is the way in which the leaves, when dunked underwater, shine with a silvery glow. Similarly, "on dewy mornings or after a shower," as Neltje Blanchan points out, the "notched edges of the drooping leaves [are] hung with scintillating gems, dancing, sparkling in the sunshine." She offers these traits as further justification for the name jewelweed.
Of course the jewel-like quality of the brightly-colored flowers is reason enough, but I recently heard another explanation that I like even better. On a nature walk at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, N.Y., our guide plucked a jewelweed seed capsule, removed a ripe seed, and peeled off the outer coating to reveal a tiny turquoise-blue "jewel" hidden within.
The name brook celandine came about because jewelweed’s stems contain a juice similar to a substance found in celandine (Chelidonium majus), once used to treat skin irritations and warts. I don’t know about warts, but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence touting jewelweed as an effective treatment for preventing poison ivy rash. Since the two plants seem to favor the same type of habitat, I wouldn’t hesitate to rub the crushed stems on my arms if I were accidentally exposed.
It’s been a good year for jewelweed, and I’m happy to see it blooming on the shady (eastern) side of the road where I walk each morning, and in the marshy area around our springhouse. I also found a lovely spot not far from our house where water collects before flowing through a pipe under the road, creating the perfect habitat for a grouping of jewelweed, white boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), ferns, and great blue lobelia (L. siphilitica). A landscape architect couldn’t have planned it better.
The most spectacular display of jewelweed I have ever seen, however, was at the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove in Audubon, Pennsylvania. On a recent visit to this lovely 175-acre preserve we followed a wildflower trail through wetlands and forest and came upon a steep, trailside slope covered with jewelweed in bloom, its dangling orange blossoms interspersed with the yellow flowers of pale touch-me-not (Impatiens pallida), a less common but closely related species.
Such a scene would likely have pleased Audubon, who lived at Mill Grove more than 200 years ago. The abundance of jewelweed flowers surely indicates a healthy population of ruby-throated hummingbirds, and his writings on the subject suggest "this glittering fragment of the rainbow" was one of his favorite birds.
Alas, most of us do not have properties like Mill Grove with its acres of wetlands and shady trailside banks suitable for wild jewelweed. The tall, loose plants can spread quickly in damp areas, and do best when allowed to ramble and sprawl. All of which brings us back to the popularity of our old friend busy Lizzy, who is easier to manage in smaller spaces.
There is a compromise of sorts in a relatively new hybrid that combines the vigorous blooming and tidy habits of busy Lizzy with the orchid-like flowers of jewelweed. These annuals grow about 18 to 24 inches tall and have golden yellow flowers (‘Jungle Gold’ and ‘Blondie’) or a range of colors from red-orange to lavender and pink (‘African Orchids’ and ‘Jungle Jewels’).
I’m happy to welcome these newcomers into my shade garden, but in truth, my heart will always belong to their wild and quirky relative, with her exotic looks, interesting habits, and impressive survivor skills. True to her name, jewelweed is a jewel of a plant, and every year I look forward her late summer arrival.
References:
Blanchan, Neltje. "Nature’s Garden." New York: Doubleday, 1900.
Coffey, Timothy. "The History and Folklore of North American Wildflowers." New York: Facts on File, 1993.
Audubon, John James. "Writings and Drawings." Edited by Christoph Irmscher. New York: Library of America, 1999.
Barth, Friedrich G. "Insects and Flowers." Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1991.
Seed Sources:
Richters Herbs, Goodwood, Ontario, LOC 1A0, Canada. 1-905-640-6677 or www.richters.com (Impatiens capensis)
W. Atlee Burpee & Company, 300 Park Avenue, Warminster, Pa., 18974. 1-800-888-1447 or www.burpee.com (‘Blondie,’ African Orchids,’ ‘Jungle Jewels,’ and varieties of I. wallerana)
Thompson & Morgan, P.O. Box 1308, Jackson, 08527. 1-800-274-7333 or www.thompson-morgan.com (‘Jungle Gold’ and varieties of I. wallerana).
Heather Lovett is a resident of Hopewell Township.

