If you have ever gone camping or for a nice hike in the woods there is a good chance you have come across one of the great enemies of the forester—poison ivy. There are two varieties of poison ivy, western and eastern. One of these varieties can be found in every single state across America. Luckily, there is a natural remedy that grows in almost the same environment—jewelweed.
This plant grows in moist, semi-shady areas throughout northern and eastern North America. It grows in dense stands in moist, shaded soils found mostly along streams. You can identify this plant by its yellow-to-orange pendant-like flowers that bloom from June through September.
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Jewelweed as Medicine
Jewelweed has been used for centuries for its anti-inflammatory properties. When applied to the skin, the sap from the stem and leaves can relieve itching caused by a variety of things, not just poison ivy. Other causes of irritation that jewelweed can relieve are hives, poison ivy, stinging nettle, and other skin sores and irritations. Jewelweed also has anti-fungal properties and can be used to treat athlete’s foot.
Adding Jewelweed to Your Home Garden
If you are a gardener, you may want to consider adding this lovely flowering plant to your garden. This plant can grow 2 to 5 feet tall and is an annual, or it comes back every year. Not only is it a very helpful medical plant with lovely bright flowers, but it is also great for pollinators. Hummingbirds, bumblebees, and butterflies are all attracted to this flower.
This plant is easily grown by sowing the seeds in early fall. Once planted will return to your garden every year. It is best to use jewelweed in sections of your garden that would otherwise be overrun by invasive weeds. Add color, healing, and pollinator-friendly jewelweed to your garden this fall.
Badger Creek Products Containing Jewelweed
Now that you know a little bit about jewelweed, it probably won’t surprise you that we use this natural anti-itch plant in our products. Our Itchy Badger Cream contains jewelweed to help relieve itching naturally. If you have extremely dry skin, you have probably had either cracks or open scratches from the constant itching. The anti-fungal properties can help keep skin healthy while most importantly stopping the itch in its tracks.
And of course, there is nothing more soothing for nature’s itches than our After Poison Ivy Soap specially formulated to help relieve skin irritated by position ivy, and other irritating plants.
Image by Gabriel Douglas from Pixabay.