How to Use Jewelweed on the Homestead

Jewelweed is a drastically underappreciated “weed.” While you can eat jewelweed, it is most often grown or foraged it for its potential healing properties.

While this attractive bush-like plant has many uses, it is perhaps most widely known for its antipruritic (anti-itching) value. This wild plant is an active natural ingredient in poison ivy rash homemade remedies.

What Is Jewelweed?

Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) has been used in natural healing remedies to also help treat joint pain, swelling, as an antidote to fish poisoniWhng, to increase blood flow, for pain post childbirth, and to soothe bruises.

There are two different varieties of the jewelweed plant. One type is commonly referred to as “whistle weed” or “garden balsam” and the other has often been dubbed “touch me not.”

The jewelweed plant is believed to have gotten its highly descriptive name from the shimmery appearance the leaves project if they are covered in raindrops or submerged in water.

This wild plant is prone to attracting beads of rain or dew onto the leaves for extended periods of time, causing the moisture to sparkle brightly in the sunshine.

Some folks have contended that the jewel type formation of the bright yellow or orange flowers also played a role in how the jewelweed plant got its name.

https://youtu.be/BAHhbWzKq9k

The jewelweed seed pods “pop” when they are touched. Many little country girls have grown up calling this healing plant the “popper flower” because of the fun they have had invoking the little “popping” seeds.

They did this by holding onto the stems of the flowers and causing the seeds to make a fun noise as they flew everywhere – some taking root and sparking more jewelweed plants to grow.

This popping action was likely why this popular variety of jewelweed was dubbed the “touch me not” plant by folks who were not interested in seeing this hardy plant grow in great abundance in their yard.

The “whistle weed” nickname refers to the small natural whistles you can make by poking a couple of holes into a hollow jewelweed stem, and blowing through them.

Jewelweed is a substantial attractor of pollinators, especially butterflies and honeybees…

History

Native American tribes, especially those in Appalachia, frequently used the jewelweed plant to treat poison ivy and similar rashes.

The Southern Cherokee, Potawatomi, Chippewa, Meskwaki, and Omaha Native American tribes also used this wild and wonderful plant to deal with the stinging caused by both insects and stinging nettles, as well as bites by common insects like mosquitoes.

Seeds from the jewelweed plant were crushed after being roasted and used to treat post-labor blood flow issues as well as general childbirth pain and swelling – and sometimes even as an aid during menstruation to curtail intense blood flow.

Native Americans also used jewelweed to treat ringworm, as a digestive aid, and as a diuretic, as well.

The jewelweed plant was equally popular for centuries in Asia. As an ingredient in Chinese herbal medicines, jewelweed was used as a topical natural medicine to reduce both swelling and joint pain, as well as rheumatism.

The Japanese harvested the juice from the stem and flowers to treat minor burns and to both reduce and soothe itchy skin caused by rashes.

How to Find and Identify Jewelweed

Finding enough jewelweed to use when making these wonderful washes, tinctures, salves, and other recipes should not be difficult if you live in a rural area in most regions around the United States or in many parts of North America.

Jewelweed is commonly found in growing wild in greatest abundance in the Midwest, eastern and northern regions of the United States. It is not unusual to find jewelweed growing along the shady banks of creeks and lakes.

Jewelweed grows wildly in USDA Agricultural Growing Zones 2 through 11. The plant thrives in wet or moist soil. Most often both varieties of jewelweed plants grow along the wedge of the wood in partial shade to lightly sunny areas.

Jewelweed with yellow flowers may be a little bit more sun seeking than the orange flowering variety. It is not uncommon to see this beautiful weed nestled among many others along the sides of the road.

Never forage jewelweed (or any other plant) from areas where it is illegal to do so or from any location that you are not 100% sure is free from chemical pesticides, insecticides, or other similar types of spraying.

Jewelweed does not have any dangerous look alike plants, making it a perfect beneficial weed for novice foragers to find. The leaves on the plants are oval in shape and toothed. During the spring new sprouts from this self-seeding weed begin to appear.

Flower blossoms start to materialize in June and the plant usually reaches maturity by the final days of August. Even though the flowers will disappear before fall sets in, the leaves and stems on the plant will continue to be ready for harvest until the first hard frost kills it.

Ingestion

After being cooked, all of the above ground parts of the jewelweed plant can typically be consumed. The heating process is essential to the removal of natural, but possibly harmful compounds housed inside the plant.

Roasted jewelweed seeds boast a taste that is akin to that of walnuts. Eating small amounts of the seeds is usually considered safe for most people, but tossing them back in large quantities is not recommended – unless perhaps seeking a natural treatment for constipation.

Jewelweed seeds have been known to cause rapid and severe diarrhea in individuals who have had a history of kidney stones.

Individuals with this type of health history may want to avoid ingesting any type of jewelweed home remedy because even after being heated during the cooking process, the percentage of oxalates in the plant remains high

The vibrantly colored yellow or orange flowers of the jewelweed plant are also edible. If eating the leaves uncooked, it is best to harvest them during the early spring while they are still young.

Before using the leaves in a salad, boil them for 10 minutes, dump the water, and then refill the cook pot with fresh water and boil for another 10 minutes.

Jewelweed leaves are a common natural stir fry ingredient, and a superb way to garner the potent and potentially anti-fungal nutrients the plant possesses.

Both the stems and the leaves of jewelweed plants house lawsone – a natural compound that boast both anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties.

Lawsone may help reduce the irritation caused by poison ivy, stinging nettles rash, dermatitis, and insect bites. Lawsone is also a hennotannic acid.

The orange to red dye which can be extracted from the leaves has traditionally been used as a henna natural coloring agent for both hair and skin.

Uses

Parts of this wild plant have been used for centuries to treat a plethora of common skin problems:

Poison Ivy	Minor Burns
Swollen Bruises	Stinging Nettles Rash
Poison Oak	Insect Sting
Insect Bite	Dermatitis
Athlete’s Foot	Poison Sumac
Joint Pain	Fish Poisoning
Mild to Moderate Swelling Around Topical Injury

How to Use Jewelweed Topically

Jewelweed can be used both alone after being picked fresh from the plant, or as an ingredient in a poultice, or salve – either from a fresh or dried state.

I have found no better way to quickly deal with an insect sting or bite than simply picking a jewelweed leaf, crunching it between my fingers, applying a bit of saliva to it, and then patting it onto the problem area.

A wonderful feeling of relief begins nearly instantly after applying jewelweed crush leaf of stem “juice” onto a sting, bite, or poison ivy type rash – in my personal experience and in that of my family.

You may not always find yourself near a jewelweed bush after an injury, so harvesting the plant parts and dehydrating them or making an herbal infusion are excellent ways to preserve and stockpile this natural healing “weed.”

While it is the orange type of flowering jewelweed that grows most prevalently on our homestead, I have had similar success using the plant parts of yellow flowering jewelweed as well.

Because the plant has a fairly shallow taproot system, you can often pull up an entire plant from the ground with your bare hands to harvest the leaves and stems to quickly preserve it.

Harvesting

The prime time to harvest jewelweed is when it is in flowering mode. You can pull out the entire plant and then chop or snip the parts you intend to use or preserve but pulling it straight up out of the ground or snipping the stem just above the taproot at ground level.

If you only need just a little bit of jewelweed to treat an insect sting or similar issue or simply do not want to harvest too much if the plant at once so it continues to flourish, you can easily either snip or pluck just a few leaves or bit of stem and leaves to use on the go or in a small batch of natural remedies.

The best times of the year to harvest jewelweed is during the spring and summer. This is the time when the juice inside both parts of the plant are most plentiful. \

During the final weeks of summer and into the falls, the stems start to become hardened and turn “knobby.”

While I still readily use jewelweed as the juice begins to fade, you will likely need to garner more plant parts to gather all that you need or risk losing potency in the remedy that you are making.

The time of the year will also dictate the color of the salves, or tinctures that you make. The light to dark shades of reddish brown that will materialize do not relay any indication of potency decrease or increase.

Preservation

Jewelweed can be dehydrated in the sun, in a dehydrating machine, in the oven, and in an air fryer oven. All parts of the plant can be dehydrated – some take more than others to thoroughly dry.

The key to successful dehydration is to cut, tear, or chunk all pieces as uniformly as possible to ensure even and well-timed drying.

Make sure to place all parts that are being dried onto the dehydrator tray, screen, or rack so that they don’t touch to allow for adequate air flow in between each piece.

The dehydrated jewelweed parts can be run through a food processor or blender to essentially powder them to make them both easier to measure and to take up less storage space.

When properly dried and stored in an airtight container like a Mason jar or vacuum sealed bag in a cool, dry, dark place, dehydrated jewelweed can keep for a minimum of five years – in my personal experience.

Preserve the jewelweed poison ivy tincture in a clean Mason jar with a firm fitting lid in a cool dark place until needed to use as a wash on rash or to soak a poultice in to treat a poison ivy, poison sumac, or poison oak rash.

This solution has also been used successfully to treat minor burns – in my personal experience.

If you are fortunate enough to have large patches of wild jewelweed growing on your homestead or have cultivated it in massive quantities, taking a jewelweed soak might be possible.

Because poison ivy spreads so quickly, soaking in a tub of jewelweed may offer almost instant relief a rash that appears on multiple parts of the body.

Fill the tub with nice warm water and then stir in a jar (or more) of jewelweed tincture and ideally, sprinkle some crushed jewelweed leaves and stems into the bath, as well.

If you do not have any tincture on hand, using just the leaves and stems in large amounts may also offer a good measure of relief from the itching. Soak in the tub until the water turns too cool to be comfortable and repeat daily, if necessary.

The tincture recipe above can be used to treat poison ivy and the other noted conditions, or it can be enhanced even further to bolster its healing potency by adding additional ingredients.

The jewelweed poison ivy solution should remain potent for approximately 4 to 5 months. To use, pour onto a cotton pad, gauze pad, or clean poultice material, and apply to the rash or minor burn area.

You can squirt this spray on people or livestock to help prevent insect bites and stings as a preventative and also to soothe stings and bites after they occur.

While this spray is designed to thwart or soothe insect stings and sprays, it can also offer itching and swelling relief from exposure to poison ivy, poison sumac, or to a slightly lesser degree poison oak.

When using a jewelweed poultice, the dressing will need to be changed a minimum of two times per day.

The natural treatment may need to be repeated for several days to bring relief to swollen and sore bruises, joints, and minor burns.

The soap can be used to treat a minor wound, minor burn, skin rash, or insect stings and bites or merely on a daily basis to soothe the skin and attempt to avoid dry skin or dermatitis flare-ups.

A jewelweed infused vinegar can be used to alleviate soreness in bruises, inflammation, minor burns, minor skin rashes, as well as insect stings and bites.

To use, dampen a cotton ball with the jewelweed and vinegar solution and dab it onto the affected area.

Carefully pour the vinegar onto the cotton balls to ensure the material does not fall into the jar and contaminate the contents.

When stored properly and not exposed to moisture (when opening any longer than absolutely necessary), the jewelweed and apple cider vinegar infusion can remain potent for about one year – in my personal experience.

I recommend storing the solution in as small of a jar as possible to avoid the need to open a large bottle repeatedly over time.

This salve can be used to alleviate discomfort, minor burns, swelling, and rashes just as the infusions, washes, and poultice recipes noted above.

Another recipe you may want to try is this one containing jewelweed, plantain, and beeswax.