Jewelweed / Impatiens

[ISKski]

Mother natures topical relief for poison ivy/oak and various other skin ailments.





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[Pioneer Valley]

I got some bad poison ivy right now. How do you use it? Rub the flowers, leaves ?

 

[mete]

Leaves will do it.Usually found near poison ivy.Deer like to eat it.

 

[Thomas Linton]

All over NE Ohio.

 

[mewolf1]

Crush the whole plant and rub it on.:thumbup:

I got some bad poison ivy right now. How do you use it? Rub the flowers, leaves ?

 

[KnivesShipFree]

All over NE Ohio.

I'd forgotten how common it was in northeast Ohio 'til I moved away and tried foraging for it elsewhere. We always crushed jewelweed stalks to release the juice, then rubbed it on the rash (kinda like aloe). Worked like a charm.

Tom @ KnivesShipFree

 

[Pioneer Valley]

Crush the whole plant and rub it on.:thumbup:

Thanks. I was driving in town and the town dpw was cutting down a very old oak that I had always loved. I asked for a cross section and they kindly gave it to me. As I was carrying this huge piece of white oak I noticed vines on the bark. Too late. I washed my skin till it almost fell off but it didnt help. Now I have this beautiful piece of wood I am scared of lol.

 

[taldesta]

Now I have this beautiful piece of wood I am scared of lol.

Thanks for my morning smile

Jewelweed (Spotted-Touch-Me-Not) is prevalent here as well in moist, semi to more shaded areas. The hummingbirds mine the stands regularly - now that's a picture, a hummingbird on a jewelweed. The mature seed pods simply explode when touched. Sometimes I do this just for the heck of it!

 

[Thomas Linton]

Poison Ivy First Aid:

ASAP, wipe with alcohol. Minutes count!
Wash with detergent.

 

[GingivitisKahn]

Crush it and rub it on BUT be careful. It tends to grow right in amongst stinging nettle which looks somewhat similar. Jewelweed has smooth stalks; the nettle has small hairs all over the stalks. Fortunately, if you screw up and grab the nettles, jewelweed will cure that too (if you find it and stop grabbing the nettles ).

 

[mewolf1]

Thanks for my morning smile

The mature seed pods simply explode when touched. Sometimes I do this just for the heck of it!

Seems I'm not the only one.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

I don't get Poison Ivy, at least not up till now, so I can't speak from first-hand experience, but for those that do, you might be interested in the following excerpt from - The Green Pharmacy, James A. Duke, Rodale, 1997, ISBN# 1-57954-124-0 :

"My friend Robert Rosen, Ph.D., a chemist at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, is a whiz at isolating chemical substances from plants. He may have come up with an explanation for jewelweed's effectiveness. Urushiol does its dirty work by binding to skin cells and triggering the rash-producing irritation. A mere one-billionth of a gram of urushiol is enough to affect those who are highly sensitive.

Dr. Rosen has identified the active ingredient in jewelweed as a chemical called lawsone. This substance binds to the same molecular sites on the skin as urushiol. If applied quickly after contact with a poison plant, lawsone beats the urushiol to those sites, in effect locking it out. The simple result is that you don't get the rash.

The greatest concentrations of lawsone are not necessarily found in jewelweed leaves. Although the leaves have some lawsone, there may be more in the reddish protuberances that resemble little prop-roots extending out from the lower stem near ground level. Apply the juice from the crushed red knobs, and you'll probably get better protection". (GJ359)

And for those that may not know, James A. Duke is co-author of The Peterson Guide : Medicinal Plants, Steven Foster/James A. Duke, Houghton Mifflin, 1990, ISBN# 0-395-46722-5

Doc

 

[Thomas Linton]

Great to know.

 

[Pioneer Valley]

Thanks for the help guys. I am in the woods a lot. I do a lot of foraging. I get it every year.

 

[Cougar Allen]

The hummingbirds mine the stands regularly - now that's a picture, a hummingbird on a jewelweed.

​

 

[Thomas Linton]

Very cool.

 

[taldesta]

​

Thanks for this. As often as I witness the coming together of the hummingbird on the jewelweed, I take in the beauty of the moment ... and have never, as often as I have seen this, taken a picture. The hummingbirds also visit, especially early morning, the red scarlet runner blossoms which are some 15 ft high on poles - they seem to love the food in the sky. Morning glory, another favourite. Somehow, I am especially enriched when I take in the moment. Thanks again.

 

[fishiker]

Thanks for sharing this information. I very seldom have a problem with poison oak/ivy but the rest of my family do. The Jewelweed grows abundantly around here and I had no idea of it's usefulness.

 

[22-rimfire]

Learned something here..... First, I didn't realize that Jewel Weed was in the Impatien family. Second, I need to plant some if I just had a really wet ditch or whatever they might grow.

 

[Thomas Linton]

Learned something here..... First, I didn't realize that Jewel Weed was in the Impatien family. Second, I need to plant some if I just had a really wet ditch or whatever they might grow.

Here in NE Ohio, they grow in the shade at the edge of woods. No special wet needed - just average woods moisture.