Vine's Flora Friday: Jewelweed

Jewelweed is a common plant you might find growing in your backyard if you live in the USA and have a shady wooded area. Many gardeners are distressed when they see this plant growing next to or in their garden and pull it up to make room for their veggies, but growing jewelweed does have its benefits.

If you ever get pricked by a nettle or rub up against poison ivy, you can turn to jewelweed for a mild antidote. A botanist by the name of Mike Balick blends up jewelweed, freezes the product into ice cubes, and rubs the ice cubes on rashes or irritations. Although it can't completely alleviate poison ivy symptoms, jewelweed is an effective antidote for the itchy rashes.

The juice from the leaves are an antidote to poison ivy

The touch-me-not is a name used by some to describe our helpful friend. This name comes from the plant's seed-pods, which, when ripe, explode and scatter seeds everywhere at the slightest disturbance.

Jewelweed's beautiful bloom

A mighty fine crop o' touch-me-nots

So next time you see a touch-me-not taking up space in your garden, remember that this plant just might save you from a lot of itching!