| Author | Meerburgh | |
| Distribution | Throughout the state, but of spotty occurrence along the coast.
This is a very widespread species across the Eastern half of the country, ranging from Canada south to northern FL and eastern TX. It has been recorded from nearly all counties in most states in its range. | |
| Abundance | Common and widespread statewide, though uncommon in most eastern coastal counties. | |
| Habitat | This is a wetland species, growing in dense stands in swampy places, floodplain pools, seepages, bogs, wet thickets, bottomlands, rich coves, and other shaded to partly shaded wet places. | |
| Phenology | Blooms from May to frost, and fruits shortly after flowering, usually in fall. | |
| Identification | This is a very familiar species and is one of the few orange-flowered species most people will see in a forest. It is a robust, smooth herb, usually about 3-5 feet tall, rarely to 6 feet or more. It has numerous branches, with alternate leaves. Each leaf is elliptical to ovate-elliptical, about 3-4 inches long and 2 inches wide, with crenate margins and a rounded base. The flowers grow in small axillary clusters, with each flower dangling horizontally on a curved and very slender stalk about 1-inch long. The bright orange flower is tubular and trumpet-shaped, about 1-inch long and about 2/3-inch across the open face, which has 5 lobes. The capsule is well-known to be dehiscent, an ellipsoid-shaped greenish capsule about 4/5-inch long. Normally, it springs open "violently" to expel the seeds, but people often squeeze the tip to spring open the capsule and eject the seeds. In vegetative condition, it is very similar to I. pallida, which overlaps with I. capensis in the mountains and upper Piedmont; that species has light to medium yellow flowers. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | None
| |
| Other Common Name(s) | Spotted Touch-me-not, Orange Jewelweed, Orange Touch-me-not. These names and Spotted Jewelweed are used about as frequently as each other. Essentially, you can't go wrong with any of these four names! | |
| State Rank | S5 | |
| Global Rank | G5 | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | FACW link |
| USACE-emp | FACW link |
