It's the perfect time of year to enjoy impatiens capensis also known as (amongst other things) orange jewelweed and spotted touch-me-not.
It's quite pretty (and attractive to the bees!)
and at this time of year has these small bean-like seed pods. They give the plant its second common name. Touch them not!
Here's another slow-motion video of someone (Exile #3) failing to take that good advice:
That plant is some habit-forming fun! I have a whole bunch of it around the edge of the yard, and after reading your post I must have fired off about a dozen sets of seeds, some going 5-6 feet! So if you run out, I know where you can find some more.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got to try it - it's very hard to describe!
DeleteMy sister and I were just talking about childhood memories on the phone and decided to do an online search for the touch me not. Hours and hours and hours of fun in our Grandparents back yard popping these wonders of creation. Even walking through a group of them as a child would set off chest level multi-fires. Thank you so much for the video. You are right - it's very hard to describe. My husband and I found some of these outside a friends house in Frankfurt, Germany. For a little while he shared my childhood. I would love to find out where I can find a plant.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. I'm glad my little post was helpful in fleshing-out your happy memories of your youth. I hope you find a way to plant some - as you know they grow wild in the US and in Europe!
Delete