Guest Blogger: Arthur Haines, on the science of Jewelweed.

When I was growing up and learning traditional wilderness skills, I kept being told I had to check out MPSS, or Maine Primitive Skills School. When I finally figured out Google, I typed in those four words, and suddenly I was seeing people doing the skills that I loved to do, and making a living at it. These guys weren't just talking about living with traditional skills in their lives, but they were doing it. It was really the inspiration that started my career as an instructor.

Over the years I have followed along with their videos on Youtube, and other subjects, and two people kept coming to light. The first was Mike Douglas, the founder of the school, and the other was a gentleman named Arthur Haines. I have gotten to know both of them over the internet, and I can tell you, these guys deserve a great deal of respect for what they have preserved for future generations. whose runs the Delta Institute of Natural History, where he works diligently to reverse Human Domestication. On his very cool Youtube channel I have watched Arthur discuss exactly what I said earlier in my Introductions blog regarding the Paleo-Diet and the inaccuracies. To be honest, Arthur's clear and educated explanations were one of the main reasons I decided to return to the Thirteen Moons Calendar as a diet guide. Arthur came upon my blog, and was interested in helping shed some light into the subject I discussed in my blog about the Seasonal Food of the Raspberry Moon, regarding Jewelweed's use against poison ivy. So, without further adieu, here is a very interesting, eye-opening article regarding the science behind how Jewelweed can be used to combat poison ivy, by Arthur D. Haines.

"Species of poison-ivy, poison-sumac, and poison-oak are members of the genus Toxicodendron, which means “poison tree”. These woody plants have received this name because they contain an irritating organic compound called urishiol. Urishiol causes the familiar, itchy rash after contact with the leaves and stems of these plants. It is believed to bind to specific receptor sites on the skin. Of note is that urishiol is alcohol soluble (i.e., it is difficult to wash it off the skin with water alone; soap or some kind of soap-like substance is needed).

Enter touch-me-not (Impatiens spp.). These plants with showy, bee-pollinated flowers are also called jewelweed because the leaves take on a silvery sheen when placed underwater. Touch-me-nots are also well-known for their fruits—a capsule that explosively dehisces when touched to project its seeds some distance from the parent plant. This trait has given rise to the Passamaquoddy name apuckolotukkuwewossok, which means “little one that flips upside-down”, a reference to the fruit.

Touch-me-nots contain a red pigment in their vegetation called lawsone. Lawsone is particularly effective at helping to treat recent contact with poison-ivy, because this phytochemical binds to the same receptor sites as urishiol. Beneficially for us, lawsone is more aggressive at binding to these sites on our skin and doesn’t cause an allergic reaction. Therefore, if the crushed stems (which yield the sap) of touch-me-not are applied to areas that have had recent contact with poison-ivy, the lawsone protects us from getting the rash. Two items to note: (1) touch-me-not is best used to prevent the rash from ever occurring, as it has a protective effect for our skin and (2) the most potent parts of the plants are those with obvious red coloration (these are usually near the base of the plants and along the stem where leaves and branches are produced).

Once you have a rash caused by poison-ivy, the effectiveness of touch-me-not is reduced, because it is best used to protect us from ever getting the rash (I’ve been hours after contact with poison-ivy and still prevented the rash from occurring using touch-me-not). It may be best at this point to switch to some type of astringent remedy. Astringents are plants that contain compounds that cause contraction of tissue, which is useful for alleviating inflammation. By reducing the swelling caused by the rash, the itchiness is reduced. Plants containing astringent compounds include sweet-fern (Comptonia peregrina), northern red oak (Quercus rubra), and staghorn sumac (Rhus hirta). By making a strong tea from the inner bark and/or branchlets and applying a cloth soaked with this tea, one can help reduce the discomfort caused by the rash."