ladiravenmoon
Goddess of the Green
Posts: 99
(2/20/04 6:57 am)
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jewel weed herb of the week
Impatiens capensis
Jewelweed is a smooth annual; 3-5 ft. Leaves oval, round- toothed; lower ones opposite, upper ones alternate. A bit trumpet shaped, the flowers hang from the plant much as a jewel from a necklace, Pale Jewelweed has yellow flowers, Spotted Touch-Me-Nots have orange flowers with dark red dots. The seeds will 'pop' when touched , that is where the name Touch-Me-Nots came from. The Spotted Jewelweed variety is most commonly used for rashes although the Pale Jewelweed may also have medicinal properties
Jewelweed blooms May through October in the eastern part of North America from Southern Canada to the northern part of Florida. It is found most often in moist woods, usually near poison ivy or stinging nettle. Jewelweed often grows on the edge of creek beds. It is difficult to transplant and seeds do not store well; it should not be cultivated as it becomes invasive and is spread by birds eating the seeds and other means that are hard to control. Jewelweed will take over areas and crowd out other important wild herbs. I cannot stress enough how invasive this plant is. There is plenty of jewelweed in the wild, and it is not hard to find once you learn to identify it. I recently read on a newsgroup that the garden variety of impatiens has the same properties, though not as concentrated. However, the garden variety is much more suitable for cultivation as its growth is easier to contain.
The leaves and the juice from the stem of Jewelweed are used to cure poison ivy and other plant induced rashes. Jewelweed works by counter-reacting with the chemicals in other plants that cause irritation. Poultice from the plant is a folk remedy for bruises, burns, cuts, eczema, insect bites, sores, sprains, warts, and ringworm.
on a personal note I have boiled it and made ice cubes when someone gets poision ivy rub them down with a cube works well.
blessings sherry
Edited by: Gaia Angel  at: 2/20/04 7:11 am
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