Orange-spotted Jewelweed
Orange-spotted Jewelweed is an annual native to wetlands and moist woodland habitats across eastern North America. It produces extended, skinny seed capsules that burst open with the slightest touch. Hence, the alternative name: Touch-Me-Not.
Jewelweed grows three to five feet tall and has fleshy, translucent stems, with alternating oval leaves and orange trumpet-shaped blooms. The flowers have three petals. As they mature, they resupinate (rotate upside down) so that the bottom two petals form a lip which serves as a landing pad for pollinators.
Jewelweed is a kind of native impatiens
Flowers and immature seed capsules
Though often disdained by gardeners as an undesirable weed, Jewelweed is an essential source of nectar and pollen for pollinators, as well as a host plant for several moth species. It enjoys a long bloom time (from June through frost) and offers food for pollinators in late summer and fall when there are not many other woodland plants in bloom. Jewelweed’s nectar has a high sugar content, providing much-needed energy for Ruby-throated hummingbirds during their fall migration in late August and early September. Bumblebees, sweat bees, flower flies, and tiger swallowtail butterflies also visit Jewelweed.
A green sweat bee departing
A bumblebee landing
As Jewelweed’s nectar is located deep within the flower, pollinators must reach inside to collect it, and in doing so, become coated with pollen granules, which they carry between plants, thereby aiding in cross-pollination.
To ensure survival when pollinators are absent or scarce, Jewelweed also produces cleistogamous flowers, which are self-pollinating. These flowers are inconspicuous, self-contained, and never open. They enable the plant to self-pollinate and make a small quantity of viable seeds. While cross-pollination is preferable as it boosts genetic diversity, the ability to self-pollinate provides a safety net for the survival of the species when cross-pollination doesn’t happen.
Jewelweed has traditionally been regarded as both an edible herb and a medicinal plant. The newly harvested seeds are reported to have a walnut flavor. The young shoots, stems, leaves, and flowers are all edible if boiled first in several batches of water to remove harmful calcium oxalate. When broken, the leaves and stems release a gooey liquid that can be used to soothe sunburn, poison ivy rash, and insect bites. The sap also contains anti-fungal properties.
Jewelweed at the entrance of NCLT’s Watson-Symington Preserve
There are large and small stands of Jewelweed growing all over New Canaan and especially in the shady sections of our Watson-Symington and Livingston-Higley Preserves. Its long bloom season makes it a valuable asset on the pollinator pathway. We want to strike ‘weed’ from its name and think of it as a jewel.
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