Question: Hello! Can someone tell me what plant this is? I see it while hiking along streams all the time. I …
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Question
Hello! Can someone tell me what plant this is? I see it while hiking along streams all the time. I think it has small orange flowers toward the end of the summer. When I was a kid, a camp counselor told me Native Americans would use the sap to make yellow dye to paint their faces (he might have been wrong...) Thanks!
Answer
Dear Garret, the plant in the photograph is a species of Impatiens (touch-me-not), likely Impatiens capensis (spotted touch-me-not), a native species of moist to wet soils. The fruits explosively open to eject the seeds.
