A JEWEL OF A WEED

Are any of you allergic to poison ivy?  I am.  Given that I am a field biologist, I can’t always avoid poison ivy.  Aside from the temporary disfigurement, personal torment, and anguish caused by my whining to loved ones… poison ivy costs me about $200 per summer without the shot in the butt.  My botanist buddies swear that jewelweed (Impatiens pallida) can ease the itching from poison ivy and Native Americans used it.  Jewelweed conveniently grows in the same areas as poison ivy.  The native plant grows two to five feet tall.  It has a notable orange flower with a long spur.  The plant flowers in mid-summer and will continue to produce flowers until the winter frosts kill them.  Next time I come across poison ivy, I will find myself some jewelweed and rub the sap on myself.  If it solves my poison ivy problem, it will certainly prove itself a jewel of a weed!