Spotted Jewelweed - Impatiens capensis
Above: Spotted Jewelweed in Nakoma Park. (8/18/19).
Spotted Jewelweed - Impatiens capensis
Spotted Jewelweed is an herbaceous plant that grows 3 to 5 feet tall. Spotted Jewelweed begins blooming in mid-summer and continues until the plant is killed by frost.
The flowers are orange (sometimes blood orange or rarely yellow) with a three-lobed corolla; one of the calyx lobes is colored
similarly to the corolla and forms a hooked conical spur at the back of the flower.
Other names include: orange jewelweed, orange touch-me-not, common jewelweed, spotted jewelweed, spotted touch-me-not, or orange balsam.
Impatiens means "impatient" or "intolerant" and refers to the explosive dehiscence of the fruits, which burst at the slightest touch as a means of scattering the seeds. (Hence, touch-me-not).
Above: Bumblebee enjoying the pollen of Orange Jewelweed by source of the Duck Pond on August 9, 2020.
Spotted Jewelweed is closely related to Impatiens pallida and is considered to be the more common of the two wildflowers. However, Yellow Jewelweed is so prevelant along the bike path (growing 5-7' tall) in the Oak Savanna in Madison, Wisconsin, I had mistakenly assumed it was the most common of the two wildflowers.
Noteable difference between Spotted Jewelweed (L) and Yellow Jewelweed (R): Spotted Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) have flowers that are darker in color (often orange) and have long, bent-back rear spurs; whereas, Yellow Jewelweed (Impatiens pallida) flowers are pale yellow and have short, right-angled rear spurs.
For more information on the Spotted Jewelweed, visit Wikipedia.
Or, visit the UW-Madison Master Gardener Program website page about Jewelweed - Impatiens capensis.
Or, visit the UW-Madison Wisconsin State Herbarium website page about Spotted Jewelweed - Impatiens capensis.
Spotted Jewelweed
Impatiens capensis
Above: Spotted Jewelweed on shore of Lake Wingra in Wingra Park in Madison, Wisconsin on August 2, 2019.
Above: Spotted Jewelweed (orange with no spots) on shore of Duck Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on August 3, 2019.
Above: Spotted Jewelweed in Nakoma Park in Madison, Wisconsin on August 3, 2019.
Above: Spotted Jewelweed in Nakoma Park in Madison, Wisconsin on August 11, 2019.
Above: Spotted Jewelweed in Nakoma Park in Madison, Wisconsin on August 21, 2019.
Above: Spotted Jewelweed on shore of Duck Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on August 21, 2019.
Above: Spotted Jewelweed (orange with no spots) on shore of Duck Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on August 23, 2019.
Above: Spotted Jewelweed in Nakoma Park in Madison, Wisconsin on August 30, 2019.
Above: Spotted Jewelweed (orange with no spots) on shore of Duck Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on August 30, 2019.
Above: Spotted Jewelweed on shore of Duck Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on September 1, 2019.
Above: Spotted Jewelweed along Ho-Nee-Um Pond boardwalk in Madison, Wisconsin on September 6, 2019.
Above: Spotted Jewelweed on shore of Duck Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on September 7, 2019.
Above: Jewelweed illustration by Alice Lounsberry circa 1899.
