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Asclepias tuberosa (butterflyweed)APOCYNACEAE - dogbane family
Description: A native perennial that grows from 1-3.5' tall. The usually alternately arranged (sometimes some opposite or whorled), toothless, linear to elliptic leaves are deep green and deeply veined. Leaves are subsessile along the hairy green to reddish colored stem. The undersides of the leaves are hairy and the top surfaces are variable. The 5-parted orange flowers (rarely yellow) have upright hoods that have small horn-like structures and petals that drape down like a skirt. The fruit is a follicle that contains scaly seeds with a tuft of silky hair attached to the tip; this allows them to blow with the wind.Bloom Period: July-SeptemberPlant Communities: Disturbed areas, secondary dune, prairie complex, savanna complexNotes: Butterflyweed does not bleed a milky latex like its sister milkweed species do, but rather a clear latex, thus the reason why it isn't commonly called butterfly milkweed. It has also been called pleurisy root due to its toxins causing one to vomit, and it has been used as a diuretic. Butterflyweed is mostly self-incompatible and is pollinated predominately by large bees and wasps.Etymology: Asclepias is named after the Greek god of medicine and healing. Tuberosa means "tuberous," as the roots end in a thickened tuber. Lookalikes: Of the 10 milkweeds found in the Indiana Dunes, none have the bright orange flowers and clear latex of butterflyweed. The most similar vegetatively is green milkweed (Asclepias hirtella), due to both having alternate to sub-opposite linear leaves (unlike the other 8 species that have opposite leaves). Green milkweed differs from butterflyweed by its greenish flowers, no horns on the hoods, and milky sap.
Impatiens capensis (touch-me-not)BALSAMINACEAE - balsam familyDescription: A native annual that grows to 5' tall and that is ubiquitous in many wet habitats. The stem is hollow, light green (often with some reddish coloration), and somewhat translucent. The stalked, mostly alternate leaves (lower leaves can be opposite) have round-toothed margins and are hairless. The orange flowers are somewhat tubular and look a little like a fish, with modified sepals that possess a curved, tail-like nectar spur and a stomach like pouch. Five petals form the face of the flower with a large, usually 2-lobed lower lip, two smaller upper petals, and two even smaller and inconspicuous lateral petals. The petals are often speckled with red spots. Rarely the flowers are yellowish, reddish, or white. The fruit is an elongated capsule that is highly pressurized so that any bump will cause it to burst open, rapidly ejecting the seeds.Bloom Period: June-SeptemberPlant Communities: Disturbed areas, bog, marsh, prairie fen, sedge meadow/wet prairie, bottomland, hydromesophytic forest, conifer swamp, pin oak flatwoodsNotes: The common name touch-me-not comes from the seed dispersal mechanism, as when the fruit is "touched" it explodes. Another common name is "jewelweed," which refers to the way water droplets form into beads, or "jewels," on the leaves. Leaves that are submerged in water also display a silvery, jewel-like reflection. Touch-me-nots have two flower types - the open, orange, speckled form and a self-fertilizing closed flower that never opens (cleistogamous). The clear, watery, soothing sap from this plant has been used topically for poison ivy rashes, insect bites, nettle stings and other skin irritants by Native Americans.Etymology: Impatiens comes from the word impatient because the seed capsules impatiently explode when touched. Capensis means "of the cape," as when it was named, the origin was thought to be from South Africa. Someone messed up there.Lookalikes: Touch-me-not is often called orange touch-me-not or orange jewelweed because its sister species, pale touch-me-not (Impatiens pallida), has larger, yellow flowers (often called yellow touch-me-not or yellow jewelweed). The latter looks very similar but has more teeth per leaf margin (usually more than 9 teeth per side whereas orange touch-me-not usually has fewer than 9 teeth per side) and often has a glaucous stem. Pale touch-me-not is sometimes found in similar habitats, especially where there is disturbance, but is usually found in slightly drier areas.
