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Impatiens capensis
Also called Orange balsam, Spotted Touch Me Not, Orange Touch Me Not, Jewel Weed, Lady's Earrings, Snapweed, Spotted Jewelweed
Jewelweed is a fast-growing annual wildflower native to North America, common in moist bottomland, ditches and creek banks. It thrives in damp, shady soil and is known for its orange flowers and seed pods that spring open when touched.
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 (I. pallida).
Impatiens capensis was transported in the 19th and 20th centuries to England, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Finland, and potentially other areas of northern and central Europe. These naturalized populations persist in the absence of any common cultivation by people. This jewelweed species is quite similar to Impatiens noli-tangere, an Impatiens species native to Europe and Asia, as well as the other North American Impatiens. No evidence exists of natural hybrids, although the habitats occupied by the two species are very similar.
Impatiens arguta · Spotted snapweed · Impatiens denisonii · Himalayan Balsam · New Guinea Impatiens · Touch-me-not Balsam · Hardy Impatiens · Pale touch-me-not · Impatiens pseudoviola · Ceylon Balsam · Impatiens stenantha · Impatiens tinctoria
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Impatiens capensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
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.
