This native annual grows up to 6 feet tall. The succulent stems and branches are watery and translucent. The thin leaves are oval-shaped and toothed. The orange tube flowers are covered with red-brown dots and end in long recurved spurs. The fruit is a swollen capsule which explodes at maturity, hence one of its other common names. Identified by its orange, sometimes bright red (D) flower and long, recurved spur. The closely related Pale Jewelweed (Impatiens pallida) has yellow flowers with shorter, angled spurs.
Grows in moist ditches and seeps flowering from June through September. At Fontenelle Forest common in water along the railroad tracks and lately in Mormon Hollow, where 2009 was a good year for this species (C).
Hummingbirds love this plant, but bees and butterflies also come to visit and pollinate. Birders wanting to study Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds may often observe them around these flowering plants. Other common names include Touch-Me-Not, Impatience, and Wild Balsam.
The content of NatureSearch is provided by dedicated volunteer Naturalists of Fontenelle Forest who strive to provide the most accurate information available. Contributors of the images retain their copyrights. The point of contact for this page is: Roland Barth.