Pale jewelweed | |
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Pale jewelweed blooming in the rare Charitable Research Reserve (Ontario, Canada) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Ericales |
Family: | Balsaminaceae |
Genus: | Impatiens |
Species: | I. pallida |
Binomial name | |
Impatiens pallida | |
Impatiens pallida, with the common names pale jewelweed, [2] pale touch-me-not, [3] or yellow jewelweed, [4] is a flowering annual plant in the family Balsaminaceae native to Canada and the United States. It grows in moist to wet soils, generally alongside the closely related Impatiens capensis , producing flowers from midsummer through fall.
The plant can grow up to 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) in height. [5] The light green stems branch frequently and are smooth and slightly succulent. Leaves measure up to 10 centimetres (4 in) long and 5 centimetres (2 in) across and are alternate. They are simple, hairless, ovate, and have teeth on the margins. [4]
The flowers are yellow, with reddish-spots on their faces, differentiating the plant from the similar Impatiens capensis , which has orange flowers. They are tube or funnel shaped and 3–4 centimetres (1–1.5 in) long, with nectar stored at a narrow spur at the back of the flower. [6] The flowers cluster in small quantities among the upper leaves. [5] After blooming, the flowers are replaced by a narrow seed pod up to 3 centimetres (1 in) long. When the seeds are ripe, they explode from the pod when touched, giving the plant its common name, touch-me-not. [6]
Nectar spurs are tubular elongations of petals and sepals of certain flowers that usually contain nectar. Flowers of Impatiens pallida have nectar spurs which are thought to have played a role in plant-pollinator coevolution. Most of the nectar spurs of Impatiens pallida are perpendicular but some of them are curved. [7]
These nectar spur flowers are either partially or completely pollinated by insects. The specific pollinator is determined by the curvature of the nectar spur. Since Impatiens pallida have perpendicular nectar spurs, bees are the main pollinators. [7]
I. pallida is native in the United States from North Dakota to the north and west, Georgia to the south, and Maine to the east. In Canada, it is native in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. It can be found in wet, soggy soils, such as along ponds and streams, in swamps, in moist deciduous woodlands, and in wet thickets. [6]
Like Impatiens capensis , the young shoots can be boiled (with two changes of water) as a potherb, and the seeds are also edible. [5]
Along with other species of jewelweed or "touch-me-not", it is a traditional remedy for skin rashes.
Polemonium reptans is a perennial herbaceous plant native to eastern North America. Common names include spreading Jacob's ladder, creeping Jacob's ladder, false Jacob's ladder, abscess root, American Greek valerian, blue bells, stairway to heaven, and sweatroot.
Impatiens is a genus of more than 1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the tropics. Together with the genus Hydrocera, Impatiens make up the family Balsaminaceae.
Impatiens glandulifera, Himalayan balsam, is a large annual plant native to the Himalayas. Via human introduction it is now present across much of the Northern Hemisphere and is considered an invasive species in many areas. Uprooting or cutting the plants is an effective means of control.
Drosera capensis, commonly known as the Cape sundew, is a small rosette-forming carnivorous species of perennial sundew native to the Cape in South Africa. Because of its size, easy-to-grow nature, and the copious amounts of seed it produces, it has become one of the most common sundews in cultivation, and thus, one of the most frequently introduced and naturalised invasive Drosera species.
Platanthera leucophaea, commonly known as the prairie white fringed orchid or eastern prairie fringed orchid, is a rare species of orchid native to North America. It is a federally threatened species, protected since October 30, 1989 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. In Canada, it has been listed endangered under Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act since 2005. In 2014, the International Union for Conservation of Nature assessed it as "least concern."
Hibiscus moscheutos, the rose mallow, swamp rose-mallow, crimsoneyed rosemallow, or eastern rosemallow, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It is a cold-hardy perennial wetland plant that can grow in large colonies. The hirsute leaves are of variable morphology, but are commonly deltoidal in shape with up to three lobes. It is found in wetlands and along the riverine systems of the eastern United States from Texas to the Atlantic states, its territory extending northward to southern Ontario.
Impatiens capensis, the orange jewelweed, common jewelweed, spotted jewelweed, jewelweed, spotted touch-me-not, or orange balsam, is an annual plant in the family Balsaminaceae that is native to North America. It is common in bottomland soils, ditches, and along creeks, often growing side by side with its less common relative, yellow jewelweed.
Impatiens noli-tangere is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Balsaminaceae found in damp places in Europe, Asia and North America. The yellow flowers are followed by pods which forcefully explode when ripe, ejecting the seeds for some distance.
Impatiens balsamina, commonly known as balsam, garden balsam, rose balsam, touch-me-not or spotted snapweed, is a species of plant native to India and Myanmar.
Tropaeolum majus, the garden nasturtium, nasturtium, Indian cress or monk's cress, is a species of flowering plant in the family Tropaeolaceae, originating in the Andes from Bolivia north to Colombia. An easily-grown annual or short-lived perennial with disc-shaped leaves and brilliant yellow, orange or red flowers, it is of cultivated, probably hybrid origin. It is not closely related to the genus Nasturtium.
Calliandra eriophylla, commonly known as fairy duster, is a low spreading shrub which is native to deserts and arid grasslands in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico.
Asarum caudatum is a plant native to rich moist forests of western North America. It has heart-shaped leaves and a three-lobed purplish flower.
Impatiens sakeriana is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Balsaminaceae. It is native to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea and grows in mountain forest understory habitat at elevations up to 3000 meters. I. sakeriana is most often cited for its role in sunbird pollination. It can be locally common in parts of its range, but its habitat is threatened by agriculture.
Impatiens parviflora is a species of annual herbaceous plants in the family Balsaminaceae, native to some areas of Eurasia, naturalized elsewhere and found in damp shady places. Impatiens parviflora can grow in sandy, loamy, and clay soils and prefers moist soil.
Chamaecrista fasciculata, the partridge pea, is a species of legume native to most of the eastern United States. It is an annual which grows to approximately 0.5 meters tall. It has bright yellow flowers from early summer until first frost, with flowers through the entire flowering season if rainfall is sufficient.
Senna marilandica, commonly known as Maryland senna, Maryland wild senna, and wild senna, is a perennial flowering plant in the pea family (Fabaceae) native to the United States. It blooms in the summer with yellow flowers, followed by long seed pods, and can grow up to 2 m (6 ft) tall. It prefers average to wet soil.
Impatiens balfourii is a species of the genus Impatiens known by the common names Balfour's touch-me-not, Kashmir balsam, and poor man's orchid. It belongs to the family Balsaminaceae.
Impatiens ecornuta, the spurless touch-me-not or western touch-me-not, is an annual flowering plant native to the northwestern United States and British Columbia in Canada.
A nectar spur is a hollow extension of a part of a flower. The spur may arise from various parts of the flower: the sepals, petals, or hypanthium, and often contain tissues that secrete nectar (nectaries). Nectar spurs are present in many clades across the angiosperms, and are often cited as an example of convergent evolution.
Impatiens aurella, also known as the Idaho jewelweed, mountain jewelweed, varied jewelweed, or pale yellow touch-me-not, is a species of flowering plant in the family Balsaminaceae. It is found in northwest North America up through British Columbia, Canada. It produces a yellow-orange flower during the blooming months of late June/early July through September. The plant is an annual herb that grows to just over 1 m tall. As a member of the genus Impatiens it is also a touch-me-not, a herbaceous plant that has a ripe seed capsule that will explode. The flowers are considered toxic, and should not be ingested. Once cultivated, the plant has medicinal properties to help in the treatment of warts, ringworm, nettle stings, and poison ivy rash. Additional research suggests yellow dye and shampoo for itchy scalps may be possible from this species.