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. This 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 as though it is 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 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