This late-summer wildflower, a relative of garden Impatiens, can be used to treat Poison Ivy and athlete's foot.
From July to September across eastern North America, creek banks, swamps, and moist forests are bejeweled with elegant, bright orange flowers that seem to sparkle in spite of the shade. This is Impatiens capensis, more commonly known as Spotted Touch-me-not. This common name refers to the seed pods which, when ripe, seem to explode at the slightest contact, flinging the seeds within as far as five feet away. Other names include Jewelweed, Snapweed, Jack-jump-up-and-kiss-me, Kicking-colt, Lady's Eardrop, and Horns-of-plenty.
Spotted Touch-me-not often grows in dense tangles, two to five feet high. The stalks are thick and succulent, many-branched, and full of elliptical or egg-shaped leaves that are lightly toothed around the edges. The inch-long flowers are a golden-orange speckled with red, and there can be up to a dozen of them per stalk, dangling daintily from thin stems. The ruffled opening extends back into a long, tail-like spur that curves up under the body of the flower. These spurs are full of nectar, and stands of Spotted Touch-me-not are very popular with hummingbirds, although the plant is also visited by bees, butterflies, and other insects.
Spotted Touch-me-not is beneficial to its human visitors, too. For centuries, Native Americans have used the juice from the leaves and stem to provide instant relief for rashes from Poison Ivy and Stinging Nettles. Scientific studies have confirmed Spotted Touch-me-not’s fungicidal qualities, and the plant has also been used to treat athlete’s foot.
Spotted Touch-me-not shares its range with the somewhat less common Pale Touch-me-not (I. pallida) which has larger, pale yellow flowers. Both of these are wild cousins to the many varieties of ornamental Impatiens commonly grown in gardens.
Spotted Touch-me-not itself makes a fine addition to gardens, particularly hummingbird/butterfly gardens and native wildflower gardens. One should never dig up wildflowers from public land to transplant to private gardens, but the seeds may be collected (provided you can catch them!) and sown directly into the garden in the fall. Spotted Touch-me-not prefers consistently moist soil and part shade. It is an annual, meaning that the plant dies at the end of the year, but will happily reseed itself. In fact, gardeners should be warned that Spotted Touch-me-not can become overly enthusiastic, crowding out other plants, and one should be prepared to thin it every year to keep its growth in check... or just let it take over, and fill your yard with its cloak of luminous orange jewels.
