Spotted Touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis): orange Minnesota wildflowers

Spotted Touch-me-not

Plant Info
Also known as:	Jewelweed
Scientific name:	Impatiens capensis
Family:	Touch-me-not (Balsaminaceae)
Life cycle:	annual
Origin:	native
Habitat:	shade; moist thickets, along shores
Bloom season:	summer
Plant height:	3 to 5 feet
USDA PLANTS database:	Minnesota county distribution map
Spotted in Ramsey County at:	Long Lake Regional Park Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park

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Detailed Information

Flower:: Tube-shaped orange flower with reddish spots, 1 to 1½ inches long.
Leaves and stem:: Leaves are sharply toothed and 1 to 3 inches long, somewhat oval usually pointed at both ends but may have a rounded tip; alternating attachment up the stem. The stem may be nearly transluscent.
Fruit:: Long, thin pods that pop open at the slightest touch, throwing seeds in all directions, hence the name “touch me not”.
Notes:: According to my field guide, this is an important nectar plant for hummingbirds. The stems also contain a juice that can relieve the sting from Poison Ivy or Stinging Nettle.

More photos

a mass of Spotted Touch-me-not

All photos taken at Long Lake Regional Park in New Brighton, MN, July and September 2006.

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Ramsey County, or have any other comments about it?

Posted by: virginia r.
on: 2008-09-18 21:49:16

thank you for your wonderful website! i found the Impatiens capensis while on a hike by the marshes on the snail lake trails. i thought it may be an orchid, because of the shape of the flower, so i wanted to look it up. not an orchod, but jewel weed! a poison ivy remedy... so awesome...

i just moved here from north carolina, and i've really been enjoying all of the beautiful trails that are available in this area. the wild and plant life are so abundant!

thanks again for the wonderfully informative sight ;)