Summary ³

Impatiens pallida (pale jewelweed, pale touch-me-not or yellow jewelweed) is a flowering plant native to Canada and the United States. It grows in moist to wet soils, generally alongside the closely related Impatiens capensis, producing flowers from midsummer through fall. Along with other species of jewelweed or "touch-me-not", it is a traditional remedy for skin rashes, although controlled studies have not shown efficacy for this purpose.

Description ⁴

Family:
Balsaminaceae (Touch-me-not)

Height:
2 to 6 feet

Leaves and Stems:
Alternate, oval with fine teeth, up to 5 inches long and on 2 inch stalks. Stems are thick, nearly hollow, and juicy inside when broken or cut.

Flower:
Yellow with an open mouth and narrow spur, reddish spots (1 to 1.5 inches long). When the seedpods are ripe they explode when touched, given this plant its other common name of spotted-touch-me-not.

Bloom time:
July-September

Nicknames:
Yellow Jewelweed, Yellow Touch-Me-Not, Pale Touch-Me-Not

Habitat:
Shorelines, edges of woods

Wildlife Benefits:
Nectar source for hummingbirds and bumblebees. The seeds are eaten by several game bird species and the foliage is eaten by deer.

Can I plant this in my garden?
Yellow jewelweed prefers part shade and moist soils. It is an annual plant that can spread prolifically from seeds; unwanted plants can be easily pulled by hand.

References:
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/pale-touch-me-not
https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/yl_jewelweed.htm

Range ⁴

Sources and Credits

1. (c) maddie_b, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by maddie_b
2. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, all rights reserved, uploaded by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District
3. Adapted by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impatiens_pallida
4. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Go Botany
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online

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