pine tar

Ok I have to ask:eh:
What is Jewel Weed?

Jewelweed is native to North America. It is a member of the Balsaminaceae family. The Spotted jewelweed is Impatiens capensis, and the less common Pale jewelweed is Impatiens pallida. Other botanical names I found for jewelweed are Impatiens biflora and Impatiens aurea. Jewelweed is sometimes called Wild Celandine, but don't confuse North American jewel weed with Greater Celandine (see below).

Jewelweed is recommended for poison ivy rash and other skin problems according to the North American herbals I checked. The juice is best if used fresh, but some people do make tinctures or use the juice in soap.

Jewelweed:
http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Jewelweed.html
http://www.memidex.com/jewelweed
http://www.naturalnews.com/036190_poison_ivy_remedies_jewelweed.html
http://customers.hbci.com/~wenonah/hydro/jewelwed.htm
http://www.naturesherbal.com/Jewelweed.htm
http://www.cloverleaffarmherbs.com/jewel-weed/#sthash.TRDnmvAc.dpbs

Greater Celandine, Chelidonium majus, is available as a dried herb from Starwest Botanicals and from Mountain Rose Herbs (link below). It is sourced from Hungary and native to Europe. It is a member of the Papaveraceae (poppy) family. According to the references I found, it is poisonous if ingested, and it can be highly irritating to the skin, although it was used traditionally to remove warts. I did not find references about using it to treat poison ivy rash or other skin problems, but I might have missed them.

Greater Celandine:
http://www.memidex.com/celandine+poppy
http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/bulkherb/c.html#h_cel

Poison Ivy:
http://www.eattheweeds.com/poison-ivy-ponderings/

Yep jewelweed is in the impatients family. Typically it grows right alongside poison ivy. Its been used as a treatment for poison ivy for a long time. I'll be out picking lots of it this year going to dry it to save for soaps!

my grandma who has eczema has been using my pt soap for about a week. i told her to let the lather soak in first for about a minute before rinsing. she said it feels rather sticky, def different from other soaps. the eczema on her hands is drying up nicely, where before it was wet, itchy, and prone to bleeding. the ones around her back waist area are still a bit wet. prolly coz she wears adult diaper all the time, and it's hot and humid here.

but there's def some improvement, which i'm glad. she has this problem all her life.

Seven that is good to hear. Adult diapers can become a health risk for a number of reasons. Dad went with a bag because of colon cancer and has its on issues.

I've looked locally for pine tar but haven't had luck finding it yet. Where do you purchase it?

ALso, be careful where you plant jewelweed. It can spread like crazy.

I purchase mine from a tack and feed store. Family center. Used to be a farm and home.

ace hardware carries it at least the one buy me tractor supply spose to have it also if you have one of those near you

athallr said:

I've looked locally for pine tar but haven't had luck finding it yet. Where do you purchase it?

Click to expand...

Look for any store that sells horse stuff because people use it on horse's hooves to treat thrush.

If you can't find it locally you can buy it on Ebay. Bickmore is a nice brand, liquid enough to pour and not sticky like some brands. It leaves an oily mess so be prepared to clean up with lots of dish soap or toss out everything. Even my sink had little oil blobs floating around .. but they did clean up quick with dish soap.

Dried jewelweed loses its efficacy -- it's the wet sap that works. Oil infusions don't work well either -- too much jewelweed sap in oil just makes a moldy mess. Most people make a tincture of jewelweed and water or witch hazel and refrigerate the tincture. Or they freeze chopped up bits of the plant into ice cubes and rub the ice cubes on affected skin.

I have to disagree on that. I have used both types in my soaps. Dried and fresh both have the same look/ feel and effect. This coming from someone who is highly allergic to poison ivy. I have not tried the oil infusions. But have tried extract and it works pretty well also. While the fresh plant works best chopped up and directly applied, in soaps both dried and fresh work, when you can get poison ivy in january you learn to test everything out. Lol

Ok so thanks for explaining what Jewelweed is!