FORAGING AT ITS MOST FUN
Much like a high school yearbook, there are many superlatives in my foraging life. Most common find: dandelion greens. Most anticipated flowers: milkweed blossoms. Most useful plant in my own kitchen: wood nettle. Most loved for ice cream-making: yellow birch twigs. Most likely to impress friends along the hiking trail: wintergreen leaves. Most useful for tea-making: balsam and white pine. Most likely to drive me crazy because I almost never find them: morels.
But as far as the most fun foraging find, well, that one is unquestionably, without a doubt, heads and tails above the rest, the jewelweed seed.
If someone has foraged for – or even simply interacted with – jewelweed seeds and the experience, you will you ask them about likely get a response that is accompanied with a smile. Because jewelweed seeds are a delightful little engineering marvel. In a world of remarkable seed design, nature has simply outdone herself with this one.
The jewelweed plant (Latin name: Impatiens capensis) is a wonderful, and quite common, annual plant that gets its name from the fact that the alternate-growing leaves of this plant are remarkably waterproof, which causes water to bead up on the surfaces. After a rainstorm, or in the mornings when dew coats the ground and surrounding greenery, the stands of these plants will shimmer as if covered in many tiny jewels. A prolific self-seeder, jewelweed returns each spring in huge stands that line walkways and roads, often reaching waist-high. A member of the plant family Balsaminaceae, this plant becomes particularly easy to spot once the noticeable bright red, orange, and yellow-speckled flowers arrive. The flowers have bilateral symmetry, meaning that they are symmetrical along the vertical axis only (much like a violet).
These blossoms grow at the axis of the plant’s leaves and are about the size of a finger joint. They are also edible, though they have very little flavor, and can be tossed into a summer salad or on top of a cake for decoration.
The stems of jewelweed are tender and nearly hollow, and this translucent quality is one of the ways I spot the plant from afar. Jewelweed is also quite susceptible to dry spells, wilting dramatically when it hasn’t had enough rain and catching your eye that way as well. One of the most common uses for jewelweed is as a topical medicine, since the juice inside the stalks and leaves of this plant, when crushed onto skin, is a fantastic remedy that alleviates pain and irritation from both stinging nettle stings and poison ivy.
But it is the seed of the jewelweed plant that is the true showstopper. The other common name for jewelweed is “spotted touch-me-not,” and that is because once touched, the swollen seedpods of the plant burst open, broadcasting the tiny seeds inside far and wide. The process through which these seeds are propelled away from their parent plant is called explosive dehiscence, the sound of which does not bring to my mind anything like delight. Walking through the woods during the months when this prolific plant bears these seed pods, however, is a truly joyful experience, since even the lightest grazing with your hand will cause these spring-loaded little pods to lose the careful tension they’ve been using to hold themselves together. I’ve taken countless walks with kids and adults alike where we make nearly no headway on our journey, having been waylaid by a stand of this plant and losing track of time as we pop more and more of these little lance-shaped pods.
Because of this impressive method of seed dispersal, jewelweed returns every year in abundance, and it would be nearly impossible to overharvest seeds for your personal use. If you are taking parts of the plant earlier in the season, however, make sure you leave large portions of the plant intact so it is able to flower and seed once more. This is especially true if you are harvesting the flowers that will eventually become seed pods, so stagger how you pick these blossoms, making sure to leave plenty on each stand of plants you find. This will ensure that other creatures can use this plant as a food source, and that it will continue to return each year for your medicinal, culinary, and recreational enjoyment.
Though many have encountered these pods and spent some time making them burst open, far fewer have actually caught and tasted the tiny seeds. And that’s a shame, since these seeds, which are about the size of a sesame seed and bright green, pack a big, crowd-pleasing punch of flavor. Eating even one of these tiny seeds brings to mind the familiar flavor of walnuts, and it is remarkably potent despite its miniscule size. The best way to capture the seeds is to quickly close your hand around the swollen seed pods instead of just touching them. The pod will then burst, and when you open your hand you can carefully remove the now curly green pod exterior, keeping the little green seeds behind. Since they are so small, my recommendation is to enjoy them as a snack as you explore the woods, sharing them with your friends and watching the surprise in their expression as they take their first taste. If you find a particularly prolific patch, and are interested in committing some time to collection, I have used these seeds to boost one of the most well-loved foods in all human creation: the chocolate chip cookie. (Quite the superlative there, though I challenge folks to prove me wrong.)
Simply take your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and sprinkle some jewelweed seeds on the tops before baking, lightly pressing them into the dough. I like to add a bit of fancy and flaky sea salt to the tops of mine as well, though I would do that regardless of whether jewelweed was included or not. Then bake the cookies whichever way you like – soft and chewy and round, flat and crispy-edged, tiny and ready for a pocket snack, or giant and sliced into pieces like a brownie. The seeds on top will lend the cookies a delicate walnutty flavor that is hard to find fault with. Collecting the seeds and baking the cookies is also a great way to spend an afternoon with kids, since every step of this activity – including the eating at the end, of course – is such a good time.
So head out to the woods. Search out this glittering plant. Pop some seeds. And have a day out in nature that is (say it with me, friends) just plain and simple fun.
*NOTE: Always consult with trusted experts and refer to foraging books and field guides for 100% positive plant identification before consuming any wild plant, and make sure you are familiar with every potentially dangerous plant that grows in your region. As with harvesting any wild plant, and particularly ones that grow in commonly-sprayed areas, take particular care to collect from spaces you know to be chemical-free. Never pick any wild plant from protected spaces. Integrate new foods into your diet in small quantities to gauge any dietary and allergy sensitivities, and consult with a doctor if you have any questions or concerns about specific health issues or medication interactions.
Becca Miller lives in the Adirondack Mountains and works as a professional farm-to-classroom educator, ceramics teacher, writer, and photographer. A former Cape Codder in residence but always a Cape Codder at heart, Becca spent her time living on the Cape running a CSA program where she taught members how to use harvest items in new and creative ways. Becca is a Certified Master Food Preserver and a Leave No Trace Trainer, and her writing has been featured in Edible Capital District, Edible Vermont, and Adirondac magazines, along with Alice Waters’ Edible Schoolyard blog and Mother Earth Living’s Food Matters blog. Find Becca’s writing at beccamillerwriting.weebly.com.
