Jewel Weed

As I have been exploring my five acre lot of property for native plants and their many medicinal and culinary values; I was very blessed to stumble upon Jewelweed which is a great plant to have nearby for treating Poison Ivy and stinging nettles, among many other skin irritants that I will mention later.  As soap makers we were very pleased with this new discovery of Jewelweed on our little five acre lot that has been developing into a wonderful herb garden.   We have wanted to experiment making different soaps and salves with the jewel weed oil for some time now.  As we have been researching plants like St. John’s Wort and Jewelweed, we laugh because of the abundance we have of these plants in our own back yard that we never acknowledged in years past.  As I have been paying closer attention to the native plants that grow in abundance all around me, like Rhubarb, Yarrow and Burdock to just name only a few, I am so motivated and excited to learn all that I can of each plant and to take advantage of every natural use each offers, as they have been freely given to us for food and nourishment.

Jewelweed comes from the impatient family and there are two types of flowers.  One blooms yellow which is called Pale Jewelweed and the other blooms orange.  To view my pictures of Jewelweed click on my link. The orange which is often referred to as Spotted Jewelweed, or “touch me not”, is more commonly used for treating Poison Ivy but I have read that the yellow has medicinal value as well.  Both the yellow and the orange have earned the name “touch me not” because when you slightly touch the seed pod they explode, or perhaps ‘pop’ is a better use of word to describe.  This is really fun to show your kids or anyone who you want to introduce to gardening.  Another fasinating feature of this plant is its water proof leaves.  This is another neat experiment you can share with the family.  The leaves have microscopic hairs that trap a small layer of air on the leaf’s surface.  If you completely submerge the leaf under water you will notice a grayish color from the trapped air that is surrounding the leaf.  Then when you take the leaf out it is surprisingly dry.  When I read this I was curious, tried it out, and found it to be true, but it is unknown to what purpose this feature has for the plant.

Jewelweed is famously known as the Poison Ivy antidote, but has also been proven to effectively treat Stinging Nettles, Poison Oak, and other rash inducing plants.  Folk remedies of poultices and salves of Jewelweed were used to treat bruises, burns, cuts, eczema, insect bites, sprains, sores, warts, and ringworm.  Jewelweed grows in wet, wooded areas and once you have been able to identify it you will notice they are very invasive. Jewelweed is commonly found along road banks and the edge of creek beds and it has been said that wherever you will find Poison Ivy you will find Jewelweed.  That is not true considering Poison Ivy will grow in dry sunny locations and Jewelweed will not.  However, I have noticed Poison Ivy growing near my Jewelweed, so I am guessing it is safer to say that you will most likely find Poison Ivy growing near Jewelweed and not Jewelweed necessarily growing near Poison Ivy.  Jewelweed blooms May through October in the eastern part of North America.  The plant will grow 3 to 5 feet tall and has a bamboo like stalk with oval shaped leaves.  The flower is shaped like a trumpet and hangs from the plant.  I have read that this is how it got the name Jewelweed, as the flower hangs like jewel from a necklace.  I have also read that it might have got its name from the way the morning dew sparkles off the plants leaves early in the morning, giving the appearance of precious jewels.

What is it about this plant that makes it so effective in treating rash inducing plants?  Well Jewelweed counter -reacts the chemicals in other plants; it neutralizes the Poison Ivy’s oil antigen called Urushiol so that it can no longer spread by scratching and rubbing.

To treat Poison Ivy, Stinging Nettles and or other rash inducing plants, all you need to do is to take a section of the plants stem and slice it open or just crush it until the juicy oil inside comes out, then rub this on the exposed area.  You can also get the oil from the plants leaves as well.  Infusions are often made also by boiling water with chopped Jewelweed until the water turns an orange color.  The water will not turn orange with yellow Jewelweed and I have read will not be as effective as the orange.  Once you have boiled the Jewelweed and it has turned an orange color you then need to strain the liquid and pour in to ice cube trays.  The Jewelweed cubes will last up to a year in the freezer to have readily available for the unexpected encounters with Stinging Nettles and Poison Ivy.

"The Results of a Clinical Study,  in which a 1:4 jewelweed preparation was compared for its effectiveness with other standard poison ivy dermatitis treatments was published in 1958 (Annals of Allerty 1958;16:526-527). Of 115 patients treated with jewelweed, 108 responded ‘most dramatically to the topical application of this medication and were entirely relieved of their symptoms within 2 or 3 days after the institution of treatment.' It was concluded that jewelweed is an excellent substitute for ACTH and the corticosteroids in the treatment of poison ivy dermatitis. The active principle in the plant responsible for this activity remains unidentified."   by Varro Tyler, PhD in his book HERBS OF CHOICE

Isn’t it just amazing what we can find growing in our own backyards?  I love learning of natural antidotes such as Jewelweed.  I am shocked as I learn of the medicinal history of herbs and how it was less than a century ago that herbal treatments were common practice passed down from generation to generation, and how in just a short period of time we have become so dependent on the pharmaceutical industry.  Everything has its place and I am sure that there are some drugs out there that actually help treat and cure some serious illness, and I am thankful for modern medicine in that regard.  However I feel it is important to not lose sight of the natural treatments that are available to us and most likely have far few side effects than what we would particularly see in prescribed medications.

I hope you have found this article informative and if unaware of Jewelweed prior to reading this article, that you were as impressed as I was.  I hope you find yourself some Jewelweed and have a blast popping seed pods and making your own Jewelweed cubes, and as always I do hope that you make that pure and simple choice.