Several days ago in this blog I mentioned Jewelweed as one of the harvesters of the summer sunlight. In places in my yard this gem grows six feet tall and so thickly that walking through it—with seed pods popping—is quite an exciting experience.
The nectar from the bright orange flowers is prime fuel for all kinds of insects and, importantly, for the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that are fattening up for their migration to Mexico and Central America—the longest leg of which can be an unbelievable 900-mile, 20-hour flight!
Once pollinated, the seeds ripen in fat, turgid pods which, when touched, explode and fire the seeds in all directions. If you can find some of this plant, look closely and you’ll see what I mean.
Jewelweed is just one more good reason of why I’m glad I stopped mowing a lawn over twenty years ago.
Do you remember that Aunt Mote brewed and imbibed in jewel weed tea every spring to lessen the effects of poison ivy rash? I’ve read on several websites that that can be somewhat toxic but I do it myself anyway. The one year I forgot I had a terrific case of PI. The steroids I had to take were probably many times more toxic than the “touch me not” tea would have been!