Location:

• Moist, shaded areas
• Found commonly near streams, in valleys and hollows

Characteristics:

• Tall herb
• Distinctive yellow-orange flowers
• Height: 0.5-2.5 m (2 - 7 ft)

Uses:

• Plant juices relieves itching from poison ivy, stinging nettle, insect bites
• Works as a diuretic, and for burn dressing

Leaves:

• Coarsely toothed, oval-shaped
• Bluish green in color, whitened underside

Flowers:

• Orange-yellow, spotted (reddish-brown) flowers; tube/trumpet-shaped
• Long pod, contains most of the seeds – splits explosively to touch, disperses seeds in all directions (see bonus video below)

Notes:

The name Jewelweed comes from the fact that dew and rain ends up on the leaves, forming sparking droplets of water.

BONUS!

A fun identifying feature of the jewelweed is the explosive pop of the pod upon touch, dispersing seeds all over. Watch our short video to see it in action! CLICK to download the short video.