http://norman.walsh.name/2004/08/27/jewelweed 7 154 2004-08-27T07:02:46-04:00 $Date$ Norman Walsh 2004 Norman Walsh I became enchanted with Jewelweed (also known as “touch-me-not”) before I was in the first grade. Then we moved away from New England and I didn’t see it again for the better part of two decades. By the time I encountered it again, it was a hazy childhood memory. William Shakespeare Sweet flowers are slow and weeds make haste. I became enchanted with Jewelweed (also known as “touch-me-not” for reasons that will become clear momentarily) before I was in the first grade. Then we moved away from New England and I didn’t see it again for the better part of two decades. By the time I encountered it again, it was a hazy childhood memory. Jewelweed, a member of the Impatiens family, is a small, bushy plant that likes wet soil. The nearby patch grows right along a little creek. When in bloom, it displays a profusion of small orange flowers. A little googling this morning reveals that they’re much liked by hummingbirds, so I’ll be scattering some seeds this fall in an attempt to bring Jewelweed into the garden. I fear the flower beds won’t be moist enough, but I’ll try. Scattering the seeds is going to be really easy. The quality of Jewelweed that seemed magical to me at age 5 or so, and still tickles me quite a bit, is its mechanism of seed distribution. Ripe Jewelweed seed pods are exceptionally fragile. The slightest touch causes them to “explode,” scattering seeds over a space of several feet at least. If you trap one of the seed pods in your fingertips (no easy feat if the pod is really ripe, which the one below was not) and release it slowly, you can watch the pod unzip itself and collapse into a little ball. Put the slightest pressure on the pod and it unzips down one or more “seams.” Then the pod begins to curl and twist and flings the seeds a considerable distance. Unrestrained, the whole process takes a small fraction of a second. The little black seed is from a riper pod that exploded before I could even get my fingers around it. I can’t quite imagine what biological process produces the tension in the seed pod, but it sure works.