Impatiens pallida
An even-tempo annual-forb buffer that pools armour from its benched ruderals and mends itself mid-fight — an Eastern North American native with no invasive form.
Jewelweed is a soft Annual forb that fights as a bench-fed buffer, drawing armour from the ruderals behind it and mending itself through longer exchanges. It is native to Eastern North America, where it plays a native buffer; no invasive form of this species exists, so it is only ever a defensive piece. Its attack is fair, and it holds the same tempo off the mark as it does deep in a fight.
Its starter attack, Colonize, unlocks at level 1 for 2 Sun and carries no fixed damage number — it hits harder each time it lands. The free once-per-battle ability, Ecesis, arrives at level 25: Establishes fast: heal 35% and gain speed. The advanced attack, Scatterseed, unlocks at level 40 for 6 Sun (25 damage). Most of your jewelweed sit below level 40, where only the starter is unlocked. None of its moves carry an initiative rider. See Moves.
Jewelweed keeps two always-on traits. Duff Stuff arrives on the level 10 riser: while it is your active its effective DEF rises by half the combined DEF of your still-standing benched ruderals — annual forbs, grasses, aquatics and bulbs — recomputed every turn, so the cushion shrinks as those allies faint, and the donors keep their own armour. It is a real, always-on defence, not a chance effect. Reseed arrives on the level 68 riser: when the plant is knocked out, a fresh Seedling token steps up in its place. See Abilities.
Jewelweed is non-toxic: it holds no Toxin trait, so striking it costs an attacker nothing in contact recoil and it lays no poison. Its growth habit is terrestrial, so it is not eligible for a Moss Pole. As a native, defensive field gear — a Cloche, or a calcium or magnesium amendment for a little DEF — helps offset its thin armour. See statuses.
At level 40 jewelweed reads 103 HP with ATK of 26, a fair figure for a ruderal. DEF is just 1, at the soft floor of the annual-forb band, so it takes hits with almost no armour of its own and depends on the pooled Duff Stuff bonus instead. Its tempo is even: turn 1 runs on its initiative (52) and every turn after on its SPD (52), which match, so it is neither a fast opener nor a fast cruiser. Retreat costs 12 Sun. As a native it gains a +15% HP cushion and, while benched, projects an HP overshield onto your active. See Stats.
Matured to level 100, jewelweed swells to 190 HP and 46 ATK, but its DEF only reaches 1 — as a soft forb it buys bulk in health and almost none in armour, so it stays exposed to any real hitter and still leans on its bench for defence. Retreat rises to 24 Sun, and its tempo has sunk to about 1% of cap, so a mature jewelweed acts last against almost anything younger.
As an annual forb, jewelweed sits in the Ruderal succession group. It hits Specialist plants — succulents, conifers, ferns and epiphytes — for ×1.5 while taking only ×0.667 from them; it is weak to Competitor plants — perennial herbs, shrubs and trees — which strike it for ×1.5 and shrug off its blows. Against other Ruderals and the off-wheel Weird group the matchup is neutral. See Weaknesses & Resistances.
Play jewelweed as a native buffer: keep a bench of other ruderals behind it so Duff Stuff can prop up its armour, and use its mid-fight mend to stretch out trades where its pooled defence lets it stand above its own DEF. It is a modest card overall, best as support rather than a finisher. It is inedible, so any nutrient you feed it banks ×1.25 XP toward faster growth rather than coins. It plays as an even-tempo buffer that leans harder on its bulk as it levels, crossing over around level 37 — but it is always stronger at higher levels, so there is no reason to hold it back.
Leveling trades speed for power. A plant’s tempo (SPD + INI, the turn-order edge) fades as it grows, while its power (HP + ATK + DEF, net of the rising Sun cost to retreat) climbs. The crossover is the level where power overtakes tempo: below it the plant is a fast skirmisher, above it a heavyweight. Shown for each stance this plant can actually hold — native adds a HP cushion, invasive an attack edge, neutral neither — with the card at its crossover and fully grown at Lv 100.