These droplets are some of the jewels of jewelweed. Schenley, 26 August 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)

30 August 2026

Yellow jewelweed (Impatiens pallida) and spotted touch-me-not or orange jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) are at their peak in Schenley Park. Last week I examined them from many angles and documented how prolific they are.

Above, water droplets hang from the tip of each scallop on the leaf. These are some of the jewels of jewelweed, as Katherine Wagner-Reiss explains at the Morris Arboretum blog:

There are several popular explanations for the common name jewelweed: the bright spotted orange flowers [of Impatiens capensis] are said to be as pretty as ladies? earrings; rain, dew, and guttation droplets on the leaves sparkle like gems in the sun; and submerged leaves have a silvery sheen due to microscopic hairs.

On a wet morning there are many jewels to choose from.

Dew beads up on orange jewelweed at Moraine State Park, 20 Sept 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)

John English told me that yellow jewelweed seeds are a pale robin’s egg blue inside the casing so I had to experiment. Here are all the satges of that experiment, clockwise from the pale blue seed:

• Pale blue seed found inside the darkest casing
• On both sides of the blue seed are “unripe” green seed casings
• Seed pod curls after the “pop.”
• Intact seed pod (looks like okra)
• “Ripe” brown seed casings

All the phases of yellow jewelweed seeds, Schenley Park, 26 August 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)

I was also pleased to document so many patches of both jewelweeds in Schenley Park including these two. It’s a stellar year with few deer.

Yellow jewelweed on the Upper Trail, Schenley Park, 26 August 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)

Spotted touch-me-not on the Bartlett tufa bridge, Schenley Park, 26 August 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)