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I used to LOVE jewelweed. In the fall this tall plant has these little orange flowers, that just after blooming if you touched or poked the closed buds, they would snap open, tossing their seeds about. I always thought that was so cool, much before I knew any better.
Well dearies, all those walks in the woods or along roadsides of my youth, where I sought out these plants and spent what could have been hours making those seeds shoot out have come back to get me. I am fighting a losing battle with this stuff. It is a terribly invasive species that is taking over my buffer zones. (Buffer zones are zones of 'untouched' land between our brook and the developed portions of the property.)
The problem with Jewelweed, also referred to as 'touch-me-nots' [apparently because of the feature I described above] is that although it is highly invasive it is a natural remedy for many skin irritations caused by other plant species. It has some really great skin healing properties.
The leaves and the juice from the stem of Jewelweed may be used as a treatment for poison ivy, oak and other plant induced rashes, as well as many other types of dermatitis. Jewelweed [a member of the impatiens family] works by counter-reacting with the chemicals in other plants that cause the irritation. Poultices and salves from Jewelweed have been indicated as a folk remedy for bruises, burns, cuts, eczema, insect bites, sores, sprains, warts, and ringworm. [Thankfuly I have not had to try it out to treat warts or ringworm. - but this is good to know should I get warts or ringworm.]
Luckily Jewelweed has a shallow root system and is easily pulled up, but I have hundreds of square feet of it. It would take me forever, and I am not sure it will not come back. It is a native species here in New England and it allegedly attracts hummingbirds. Although I am not too concerned about attracting them, Abenaqui Alpacas has been built on an old perennial farm, so we are all set with flowers and attracting hummingbirds. I heard somewhere in my travels, long ago, that it was poisionous to Horses. I am hoping that is not the case for my alpacas, as this weed is covering the perimeter of an area that is our new pasture. Great, just what I need to do, with all the other stuff we have going on, this battle against the Jewelweed just may do me in.
UPDATE: I just had a fantastic laugh. I was just surfing the net looking for confirmation of its toxicity if ingested, and I ran across a gardening forum where people were exchanging its seeds in the hopes it would take root in their gardens! COME TO MY HOUSE AND GIT IT!!!
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