Gathering Jewelweed! (Impatiens Capensis)

I wanted to share with you some pictures of my family gathering Jewelweed. We have been doing this for several years. My youngest doodle is known, in the world of poison ivy, as an easy mark. I think poison ivy somehow seeks him out and attacks...how else can a child get poison ivy in the middle of winter when he is bundled from head to toe with only his eyes showing?.....TWICE!!

When I found that Jewelweed was God's antidote for poison ivy, I began my search and was happy to find it growing along the creek at the base of our mountain. I'll share a little about gathering it, try to help you recognize it (now is the time to get it!) and then in my next post teach you what to do with it.

Here is a patch of Jewelweed...

There are weeds and vines coming up through it but the orange flowers and rounded leaves are what we are looking for.



Here Elijah is holding some branches. Oh...the surgical gloves...well guess what often grows with Jewelweed....yup.....poison ivy. Jewelweed is difficult to gather wearing heavy work gloves so we all wear surgical gloves. You will often find little vines wrapped around the stems and you need to remove those before using. It is easiest to remove them as you pick because Jewelweed wilts quickly. It is much easier to remove the vines wearing surgical gloves than work gloves....heavy, thick gloves are just too cumbersome. Make sure that all that you are gathering is Jewelweed or your end result could be disastrous! Another benefit of the surgical gloves... if we happen to get into poison ivy, we just peel the gloves off and throw them away. Works wonderfully!

Be careful when gathering....this wonderful herb is an annual. Gather it all and that will be the last of your patch. Be a good steward of God's gift and you will be rewarded with a lifetime of Jewelweed :) When we are working a patch we never take more than 1/3 of what is there. Also be careful not to "pull" to gather...cutting is better. The roots are shallow and it is very easy to accidentally pull up the entire plant! Also not a good thing! You want it to continue to grow and flourish so that it will serve your needs for years to come!



Here is a close-up of the flower ....notice the red spots down the throat of the flower. You want to be sure to get the top 15 inches or so. Gather stems, leaves and flowers but only 1/3 of what you find!

The leaves are oval and toothed as you can see. The upper ones are alternate and the lowers ones opposite. Jewelweed gets its name because water beads up on the leaves after a rain and catches the sunlight...it sparkles as if bedecked with jewels!

Jewelweed grows in wet and shady areas...along creek banks, ponds and low places in the shade. I often see it along the roads in ditches - don't gather from the roadside - too many toxins from the exhaust of automobiles make this area undesirable for a healthy, safe and effective product.

Check back soon for ways to use this marvelous gift from God!