Online Virtual Flora of Wisconsin

Impatiens capensis Meerb.

Family: Balsaminaceae

orange jewelweed, orange touch-me-not, spotted touch-me-not

[Impatiens biflora Walter, more...]

Christopher Noll

Hugh H. Iltis

University of Wisconsin - Madison (WIS-VP)

Open Interactive Map

Etymology: Impatiens: Latin for "impatient" referring to explosive action of fruit to disperse seed
Plants: erect, annual, 2'-6' tall forb, smooth, branched near the top; stems watery inside
Leaves: soft, long-stalked
Flowers: orange, 5 (looks like 3)-parted, 3/4"-1 1/4" long, tubular shape, drooping on thin stalks, spurred and lipped; inflorescence a widely-spreading cluster (raceme) from the leaf axils; blooms July-Sept.
Fruits: long, narrow capsule, exploding when ripe
Habitat: moist; woods, forests, meadows, streambanks
Hazardous: Careful, this plant is hazardous!
Conservation Status: Native

Margins of watercourses and lakes, wet woods, ditches; often appearing weedy. A common and abundant native annual, cosmopolitan throughout the state. Several color variants have been given formal taxonomic recognition at the rank of form, but such recognition seems trivial. The perianth coloration is rarely recorded on our specimens and once pressed, tends to fade. Based on label data, we seem to have forms with unspotted perianths and with dark red perianths. The seedlings of this species and I. pallida distinctive part of the spring flora, with their large, grey-green, reniform cotyledons.

The specific epithet implies that the species is native to South Africa but is one of several misnomers in our flora. This species and I. pallida produce both chasmogamous (open) and cleistogamous (closed, selfing) flowers, with the cleistogamous flowers produced earlier in the season. The pollination ecology of this species is well-studied, and despite having many traits suggestive of hummingbird-pollination, insects may be the primary and most effective pollinators of I. capensis (Rust 1977, 1979). Moreover, the same species of bee seems to be the most common visitor to both I. capensis and I. pallida (Rust, 1977).