Plant Wiki

The open plant encyclopedia

Know any plant.
Grow it well.

Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.

  • 13,000+plants with full pages
  • 365,000+plant species worldwide
  • 220+countries covered

Common in

See all

The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.

What do you want to do?

Popular plants

Browse all plants

See them in 3D

All plants in 3D

Browse plants

Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.

Plant Wiki › Browse plants

Paleyellow touch-me-not

Impatiens aurella

Also called Orange Touch Me Not, Pale Yellow Jewelweed, Varied Jewelweed, Idaho Jewelweed, Mountain Jewelweed, Pale Yellow Touch Me Not

Paleyellow touch-me-not
Photo: Matt Lavin, CC BY-SA 2.0
Family
Balsaminaceae (Balsamin family)
Grows as
Annual
Water
Likes moisture
Safety
Not toxic to cats or dogs (ASPCA).
Native range
W. Canada to NW. U.S.A.
Climate
temperate

About

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 (3 ft 3 in) 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.

Where it grows

This species of Impatiens is found in North America in the northwest United States from central Alaska to Washington, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia, Canada.

Other Impatiens plants

Stemless Balsam · Impatiens arguta · Impatiens auricoma · Balfour's touch-me-not · Spotted snapweed · Impatiens bicolor · Impatiens bokorensis · Jewelweed · Heart Leaf Balsam · Tree Dwelling Balsam · Impatiens denisonii · Impatiens dorjeekhandui

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Impatiens aurella by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.

Credits & terms

Identify a plant

Point at a leaf or flower and snap. One plant in frame works best.

Your photo
Starting camera…