Truly this weed is indeed a jewel, and it’s amazing!

I had truly never seen anything like this. Along some woods on the shore of Lake Michigan in Door County, Wisconsin, there was a large area completely full of some huge Jewelweed plants!

JEWELWEED

The Jewelweed plant is a well known for its uses in fighting skin irritations like Poison Ivy. It can get up to five feet tall, like the fields that I found, but I have never personally seen anything like it. Most of the wild Jewelweed that I had come across previously was much shorter.

If you look at the in focus seed pod on the left half of the photo above, you can see the seed pod. Jewelweed is a species within the genus Impatiens, like the "Impatients" that are commonly sold at garden centers. Like other plants in this genus, the seed pod helps disperse the seeds in a most peculiar way. Ultimately, they explode and the seeds are sent flying in every direction.

Here, in the palm of my hand, are some exploded seed pods with the seeds. The green coils are what is left of the exterior of the seed pod when it explodes. The "football shaped" objects are the seeds.

A VIDEO FROM THE FIELD

WHY I LOVE THIS PLANT

The stem and leaves of this plant can be squeezed to expel a "juice," and this liquid has long been used to help with skin irritations and rashes. The plant can soothe itches and has been known to counteract the effects of Poison Ivy, which is something that is a huge bonus for me.

I have yet to grow some of my own, but hopefully will be able to next year. Jewelweed is an annual, so it will need to "be planted" each year. However, with the effective reproduction by seed and the amazing way that the seed pods launch the seeds like tiny projectiles, I think once I get some growing, they'll take care of the rest.

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More recently, I've even hung out with some steemians foraging for Jewelweed in the wild! While over at Hive account@mericanhomestead last month, Hive account@themyrrhmaid and a few others found some down the road. To check out more about that, check out the post here.