Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CXLV · Topic 22: Weeds and wayside plants
145. The jewelweed, or touch-me-not
Goal: Your child finds jewelweed in a damp, shady place, sees its leaves turn silver under water, and measures how far its pods throw their seeds.
You'll need
- Nature notebook, pencil and colored pencils
- A hand lens (magnifying glass)
- A tape measure
- A clear glass or jar of water
What's in the book
A Teacher's Story about the jewelweed and the lesson: Leading thought, Method and eight questions.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Jewelweed blooms from about July to September by brooks, in swamps and damp, shady woods. The orange (spotted) kind and the pale yellow kind often grow together.
Before you go, make sure your child can spot poison ivy: three leaflets on each leaf ("leaves of three, let it be"), often climbing as a hairy vine or growing as a low patch.
Poison ivy likes the same damp, shady places.
The leading thought
The jewelweed may be found by the brookside, in swamps, or in any damp and well-shaded area. It is provided with a remarkable contrivance for scattering its seeds far afield.
Stem and leaves
Study the stem; is it hard and woody or juicy and translucent, rough or smooth, solid or hollow?
Plunge a plant under clear water in a good light and observe the beautiful transformation. Does the water cling to the leaves?
A single leaf in a glass of water works well.
The flower
Find the four sepals and describe the shape and position of each. Describe the nectar-sac in the nectar-horn.
Look for bumblebees, and maybe a hummingbird, visiting the hanging flowers.
Touch-me-not!
Carefully observe a seed-capsule without touching it; can you see the lines of separation between its sections? How many are there? What happens when the pod is touched?
Hold a pod at arm's length when discharging its contents and measure the distance to which the seeds are thrown.
Find a fat, ripe pod, touch it, and measure with the tape. Try several and take the longest.
Two kinds
Describe the differences in shape and color between the pale yellow and the orange jewelweeds. Watch to see if the same insects visit both.
Nature notebook
Draw a flower from the side to show its curled spur, and a pod before and after it bursts. Write your longest seed throw.
Tip
After a walk through woods or tall plants, check everyone for ticks.
Answers to the book's problems
Jewelweed is an annual: it lives through the winter only as seeds. The leaves look silver under water because a thin layer of air clings to them.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.