Jewelweed

 Impatiens capensis or Jewelweed is a wildflower.

It is growing quite nicely along the dock over at my baby brothers home.  It likes a bit of sun and lots of moisture to grow well.   Flowers can be orange or yellow.

See the fleshy stem/stalk...the clear gelatinous substance inside is what kills the itch and spread of poison ivy.  I pick the largest stalks and split them open with a knife.  Some people will keep stalks in their freezer for the next years early poison ivy problems.  We have a slurry in our fridge...one year Far Guy got some stalks and threw the whole stalk into the blender...it works great.  

I managed to escape a huge outbreak of the Poison Ivy this year...I had three small spots...one should not touch sweaty cleavage with a lawn mowing glove.  Lesson learned. 

Far Side

Jewelweed

 The Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) is in bloom.  It is easy to spot now.  The fleshy stem of Jewelweed is full of a gel that will stop the itch of poison ivy.   I need to pick some and put it in the freezer...just in case. 

The flowers can be orange or yellow. 

We have a little bit in the fridge from the time Far Guy put a bunch in the blender with some beeswax and some kind of lotion. 

You can also buy Jewelweed soap...and we have done that from time to time also...you can never be too prepared to fight Poison Ivy.  

Jewelweed is also called touch me not ...if you touch a seed head it will send the seed into the air.  Adam  thought the exploding seeds were pretty cool when he was younger!

Our neighbor Leah had a really bad case of poison ivy this summer....so I hope she finds some and puts it in the freezer just in case. 

Far Side

Blooms at the lake

The Jewelweed is in full bloom at the lake.  The bees are enjoying this late bloomer.  It is a native plant. The sister plant of this one is yellow.   This one is called Spotted Touch me Not or Impatiens capensis.

This patch found something in the woods to help it grow really tall!   I told Far Guy it was really impressive so we went down together to see it before it freezes.

It is called touch me not because if you touch the seedpods they explode.   The stems of this plant are filled with a juice that will sooth the itch of Poison Ivy or the sting from Nettles.  We have a bunch in the fridge all the time. 
Hummingbirds also like this plant.

Well what is a trip down to the lake without a photo of the lake.

The lake was quiet with only one boat in sight.
Far Side

Wildflowers: Jewelweed

Far Guy is a jewel of a guy, he cooks most of the time and we split the housework..

One day a few years ago I came home from town, probably after a horrible grocery shopping experience and he was cleaning up the ceiling.  Now why in the world was he washing the ceiling?  He had a hair brained idea, he had ordered a whole bunch of Jewelweed off of the Internet..it was fresh..so he put it in the blender and made a slurry out of it..except he doesn’t have a license to run a blender..so of course the top came off and green goo covered the ceiling and many other things too.   The green goo that did not end up on the ceiling ended up in the fridge.   Some of that green goo was mixed with a liquid soap, I was instructed to use it for my poison ivy..well low and behold green goo works to stop the itch and the spread of the dreaded Poison Ivy.  He tried to talk me into doing a more scientific study where I would rub Poison Ivy on both of my arms and wash one with Jewelweed green goo and leave the other untreated.. well I may be a bit of an adventurous sort sometimes..but I am no dummy.

Jewelweed or Impatiens pallida grows wild here in Minnesota. It likes to grow near the lakes. It is a native plant.  It is also called Touch-me-Not, this fits it perfectly.  The seed pods shoot seeds in all directions if they are touched.  It’s thick fleshy stems hold the green goo. I have found both the yellow colored variety and the orange spotted variety.  The orange seems to grow taller than the yellow.

Far Guy showed Adam how the seedpods explode when they are touched..Adam thought it was pretty cool.  Far Guy took a few stems filled with green goo to a local soap maker..his idea of having his own Jewelweed soap may again become a reality one of these days.  He told the soap maker if she put it into a blender to make sure the lid was securely in place:)