Impatiens pallida Nutt.

Pale Jewel-weed

Habitat: Wet or springy places, often in shade and chiefly in calcareous areas. [Hardwood to mixed forest (forest, upland)].

Range: Nova Scotia to Saskatchewan, Georgia and Kansas.

Aids to Identification: Pale jewel-weed is a wildflower closely related to our common and ubiquitous touch-me-not or jewelweed (I. capensis). It is similar in appearance but differs in having the flowers canary yellow, rather than orange and in having a relatively wider sac-like part of the flower.

Ecological characteristics: While common touch-me-not is found in wet areas and in acid soil, pale touch-me-not is more exacting in its habitat requiring wet woods of calcareous or limy areas.

Phenology: Flowers July - September.

Family: Balsaminaceae

Synonyms: None noted.

Known Distribution in Maine: This rare plant has been documented from a total of 14 town(s) in the following county(ies): Aroostook, Oxford, Piscataquis, York.

Reason(s) for rarity: Calcareous habitat naturally scarce in Maine.

Conservation considerations: Effects of logging are not well known, but partial removal of the canopy would be less likely to adversely affect the plant than would complete canopy removal.