Edible Plants: Jewelweed

Jewelweed ( "Impatiens capensis") is fairly well known as an antidote to poison ivy but did you know that its flowers and seeds are edible? Some people eat the very young greens but I didn't mention that here in this film because they are watery and cook down so much that they're not worth the trouble.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Jewelweed
• poison
• ivy
• gardening
• herbal
• medicine
• edible
• plants
• weeds
• foraging
• pesto
• Blanche
• Cybele
• Derby
• harvest
• survival

[cunnidvd]

excellent video

[thederb720]

@cunnidvd

I appreciate your compliment--I love to hear that I'm reaching people in a good way.

[oopspaw]

this was fascinating blanche! when i was a kid we use to pluck these weeds and use them in our 'pretend' potatoe soup! LOL .. ;D .. i never did know what they were called! 

[thederb720]

@oopspaw These plants are magnets for children (and children at heart) who love to touch the seedpods and see the seeds fly. "Touch -me- not" is a good name--often times the common names for plants are the most appropriate.

[spinnerky2]

Bravo!

[thederb720]

@spinnerky2 Thanks for your support! I always enjoy getting positive feedback on my films...

[thederb720]

@Shyguyx12 Yes--the seeds do taste exactly like walnuts but are pretty small and the flowers make colorful additions to salads.

[thederb720]

@docsimonson answer part 2: Making a salve is a bit more complicated. Check out the Internet site ehow.com. Put "How to make Jewelweed salve" in the search engine & you'll get directions. Hope this helps.

[thederb720]

@docsimonson answer part 1:Jewelweed can be made into a tincture and a salve. I haven't done either but I plan to do a tincture next summer because it's so easy: just collect the freshest leaves & stems, stuff them into a jar, cover with rubbing alcohol and leave in a dark place for 2 weeks. Then discard the plant material, pour the alcohol into a dark jar & store in a cool area. (don't forget, rubbing alcohol is not edible! )

[Shyguyx12]

I didn't know that Jewelweed was edible.