Interesting Facts
Common Names
Common Names in English:
St. Johnswort
Description
Genus Hypericum
[Trees
or] shrubs
, subshrubs
, or perennial
herbs, glabrous
or with simple
hairs
, with translucent
("pale") and often opaque
, black or reddish ("dark") glands
, laminar
(immersed
and sometimes abaxial
) and marginal
or intramarginal
. Leaves opposite [or whorled
], sessile or short petiolate
, venation
pinnate to palmate [or rarely dichotomous], margin
entire or gland-fringed. Inflorescence cymose
. Flowers bisexual
, homostylous [or heterostylous], stellate
or cupped. Sepals 5 and quincuncial or rarely 4 and decussate, unequal or equal, free
or partly united
. Petals (4 or) 5, contorted, golden to lemon yellow [or rarely white], abaxially sometimes tinged or veined red, persistent
or deciduous after anthesis
, usually asymmetric
. Stamens in [4 or]5 fascicles, free and antipetalous
, or some united to form apparently 4 or 3 fascicles with compound
fascicle(s) antisepalous
, or irregular and apparently not fasciculate, persistent or deciduous, each single fascicle with up to 70[-120] stamens; filaments
slender, free from nearly base
[or to 2/3 united] or apparently completely free; anthers
small, dorsifixed
or ± basifixed
, dehiscing longitudinally, with gland
on connective
; sterile
fascicles (fasciclodes) absent [very rare]. Ovary 3-5-loculed with axile
placentae or ± completely 1-loculed with (2 or) 3[-5] parietal
placentae, each placenta with [2 or] few to many ovules; styles (2 or) 3-5, free or partly to completely united, ± slender; stigmas small or ± capitate. Fruit a septicidal
capsule or rarely ± indehiscent, valves
often with oil-containing vittae or vesicles
. Seeds small, often carinate
or narrowly unilaterally winged
; testa variously sculptured
, not arillate
[very rarely carunculate]; embryo slender, straight, with distinct
slender cotyledons.
About 460 species: almost cosmopolitan
except for arctic
and desert areas and most of the lowland tropics; 64 species (33 endemic) in China.[1]
Physical Description
Habit: Semi-evergreen . Small, rounded , dense shrub with stiff, erect stems. Grows larger in warmer areas.
Landscaping
Care: Shear after flowering to encourage reblooming. Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish an extensive root system . Feed regularly during the growing season with a general purpose fertilizer . Prune annually in late winter to promote vigorous new growth.
Biology
Growth
Culture: Space 18-36" apart. Likes cool areas.
Soil: Prefers organic soil. Needs well-drained soil. Good for dry soils.
Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade.
Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b. (map)
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
)
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
)
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
)
- Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
)
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
)
- Kenrick & Crane, 1997
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
)
- Brongniart, 1843
- Subclass:
Rosidae
(
)
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Theanae
(
)
- Thorne Ex Reveal, 1993
- Order:
Malpighiales
(
)
- C. Martius, 1835
- Family:
Hypericaceae
(
)
- A.L. de Jussieu, 1789, nom. cons.
- Tribe:
Hypericeae
(
)
- Genus:
Hypericum
(
)
- C. Linnaeus, 1753
- St. Johnswort
- Specific epithet:
sarothra
- Michx.
- Botanical name: - Hypericum sarothra Michx.
- Specific epithet:
sarothra
- Michx.
- Genus:
Hypericum
(
- Tribe:
Hypericeae
(
- Family:
Hypericaceae
(
- Order:
Malpighiales
(
- Superorder:
Theanae
(
- Subclass:
Rosidae
(
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Synonyms
Hypericum (L. F.) Choisy Sect. Brathys • Hypericum (L. F.) N. Robson Subsect. Brathys • Hypericum A. N. Sennikov Ser. Lydia • Hypericum L. Sect. Homotaenium • Hypericum Linnaeus • Sarothra L.
Notes
Publishing author : Michx. Publication : Fl. Bor.-Amer. (Michaux) 2: 79 1803 [19 Mar 1803]
Similar Species
Members of the genus Hypericum
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 124 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:
H. acutifolium (Sharpleaf St. Johnswort) · H. adpressum (Creeping St. Johnswort) · H. anagalloides (Tinker's Penny) · H. androsaemum (Sweet Amber) · H. androsaemum L. 'Gladys Brabazon' (Sweet Amber) · H. androsaemum 'Albury Purple' (Sweet Amber) · H. androsaemum 'Esm Cho' (Tutsan 'esm Cho') · H. androsaemum 'Esm Española' (Tutsan 'esm Espa) · H. androsaemum 'Esm Greli' (Tutsan 'esm Greli') · H. androsaemum 'Esm Kalua' (Tutsan 'esm Kalua') · H. androsaemum 'Esm Ora' (Tutsan 'esm Ora') · H. androsaemum 'Esm Pin' (Tutsan 'esm Pin') · H. androsaemum 'Esm Re' (Tutsan 'esm Re') · H. androsaemum 'Esm Wet' (Tutsan 'esm Wet') · H. androsaemum 'Glacier' (Sweet Amber) · H. androsaemum 'Glob Dr205' (Tutsan 'glob Dr205') · H. androsaemum 'Glob Lp208' (Tutsan 'glob Lp208') · H. androsaemum 'Golden Tutsan' (Golden Tutsan St. John's Wort) · H. androsaemum 'Verpeacla' (Tutsan 'verpeacla') · H. ascyron (Great St. Johnswort) · H. ascyron gebleri (Great St. Johnswort) · H. boreale (Northern St. Johnswort) · H. brachyphyllum (Coastalplain St. Johnswort) · H. brathys (St. Johnswort) · H. buckleii (Buckley's St. Johnswort) · H. calcycinum (St. John's Wort) · H. calycinum (Aaron's Beard) · H. calycinum 'Brigadoon' (Aaron's Beard) · H. canadense (Lesser Canadian St. Johnswort) · H. canadense boreale (Lesser Canadian St. Johnswort) · H. canariense (Canary Island St. Johnswort) · H. cerastoides (Hypericum) · H. chapmanii (Apalachicola St. Johnswort) · H. cistifolium (Round-Pod St John´s-Wort) · H. concinnum (Goldwire) · H. crux-andreae (Atlantic St. Peter's-Wort) · H. cumulicola (Highlands Scrub Hypericum) · H. densiflorum (Bushy St. Johnswort) · H. denticulatum (Coppery St. Johnswort) · H. diosmoides (Puerto Rico St. Johnswort) · H. dissimulatum (Disguised St. Johnswort) · H. dolabriforme (Straggling St. Johnswort) · H. drummondii (Nits and Lice) · H. edisonianum (Edison Ascyrum) · H. ellipticum (Pale St. Johnswort) · H. elodes (Marsh Hypericum) · H. exile (Florida Sands St. Johnswort) · H. fasciculatum (Peelbark St. Johnswort) · H. forrestii (Forrests St. Johns Wort) · H. fortuneana 'Purple Fountain' (St. Johns Wort) · H. frondosum (Golden St John´s-Wort) · H. frondosum 'Sunburst' (Cedarglade St. John's Wort) · H. galioides (Bedstraw St. Johnswort) · H. gentianoides (Orangegrass) · H. gramineum (Small St John´s-Wort) · H. graveolens (Mountain St. Johnswort) · H. gymnanthum (Claspingleaf St. Johnswort) · H. harperi (Sharplobe St. Johnswort) · H. hookerianum (Hookers St. Johnswort) · H. humifusum (Trailing St John´s-Wort) · H. humifusum suborbiculatum (Trailing St. Johnswort) · H. hypericoides (Reclining St Andrew's Cross) · H. hypericoides hypericoides (St Andrews Cross) · H. hypericoides multicaule (St. Andrew's Cross) · H. hypericoides subsp. multicaule (St. Andrew's Cross) · H. japonicum (Matted St. Johns Wort) · H. kalmianum (Kalm´s St John´s-Wort) · H. kelleri (Hypericum) · H. lancasteri (Lancasters St. Johns Wort) · H. laricifolium (St. Johns Wort) · H. lissophloeus (Smoothbark St. Johnswort) · H. lloydii (Sandhill St. Johnswort) · H. lobocarpum (Fivelobe St. Johnswort) · H. majus (Large St Johnswort) · H. microsepalum (Flatwoods St. Johnswort) · H. mitchellianum (Blue Ridge St. Johnswort) · H. moseranum 'Tri-Color' (Gold Flower) · H. moserianum (St. Johnswort) · H. multicaule (St. Andrew's Cross) · H. mutilum (Dwarf St Johnswort) · H. myrtifolium (Myrtleleaf St. Johnswort) · H. nitidum (Carolina St. Johnswort) · H. nudiflorum (Early St. Johnswort) · H. oblongifolium (St. Johnswort) · H. olympicum f. minus 'Variegatum' (St. Johns Wort) · H. parvulum (Sierra Madre St. Johnswort) · H. patulum Thunb. 'Sungold' (St. Johns Wort) · H. patulum 'Hidcote' (Hidcote Hypericum) · H. patulum 'Variegatum' (St. Johns Wort) · H. pauciflorum (Fewflower St. Johnswort) · H. perforatum (Common St Johnswort) · H. perforatum chinense (Common St Johnswort) · H. polyphyllum (Rockery St. Johns Wort) · H. prolificum (Cinnamon Stick) · H. pseudomaculatum (False Spotted St. Johnswort) · H. pulchrum (Slender St. Johns Wort) · H. punctatum (Spotted St Johnswort) · H. reductum (St Johns Wort) · H. reptans (Creeping St. John's Wort) · H. revolutum keniense (Forest-Primrose)
More Info
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Further Reading
- A class-book of botany, designed for colleges, academies, and other seminaries. Illustrated by a flora of northern, middle, and western states; particularly of the United States north of the Capitol, lat. 38 3/4. Claremont, N. H., Manufacturing Co., S. Ide, agent, 1850. url p. 184.
- An introduction to the study of botany, including a treatise on vegetable physiology, and descriptions of the most common plants in the middle and northern states. By J.L. Comstock. .. New York, Pratt, Woodford, Farmer & Brace, 1856 [c1854] url p. 381.
- Annual report of the New Jersey State Museum. Trenton, N.J.: MacCrellish & Quigley, url p. 557.
- Botany of the northern and middle states, or, A description of the plants found in the United States, north of Virginia: arranged according to the natural system: with a synopsis of the genera according to the Linnaean system. .. / Albany: Printed by Webster and Skinners. .., 1833. url p. 61.
- Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). London: The Museum, 1951-1992. url p. 338.
- Bulletin. Salem, Mass. url .
- C. E. Hobbs Botanical hand-book of common local, English, botanical and pharmacopial names arranged in alphabetical order, of most of the crude vegetable drugs, etc., in common use. Especially designed as a reference book for druggists and apothecaries. Comp. and pub. by Charles E. Hobbs. Boston, Printed by C.C. Roberts, 1876. url p. 46.
- C.E. Hobbs' Botanical hand-book: of common local, English, botanical and pharmacopœial names arranged in alphabetical order, of most of the crude vegetable drugs, etc., in common use: their properties, productions and uses in an abb Boston: Printed by C.C. Roberts, 1876. url , .
- Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 6 1901 Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1890- url p. 623.
- Flora of the District of Columbia and vicinity. By A.S. Hitchcock and Paul C. Standley, with the assistance of the botanists of Washington. WashingtonGovt. print. off.1919 url p. 205.
- Manual of botany, for North America: containing generic and specific descriptions of the indigenous plants and common cultivated exotics, growing north of the Gulf of Mexico / by Amos Eaton. Albany: Printed by Websters and Skinners, 1829. url p. 380.
- Plant life of Alabama, an account of the distribution, modes of association, and adaptations of the flora of Alabama, together with a systematic catalogue of the plants growing in the state. By Charles Mohr. .. Montgomery, Ala., Brown printing co., 1901. url p. 623.
- Plant life of Alabama. An account of the distribution, modes of association, and adaptations of the flora of Alabama, together with a systematic catalogue of the plants growing in the state. Prepared in cooperationwith the Washington, Govt. Print. Off., 1901. url .
- Plant life of Alabama: an account of the distribution, modes of association, and adaptations of the flora of Alabama, together with a systematic catalogue of the plants growing in the state / by Charles Mohr. Montgomery, Ala.: Brown Printing Co., 1901. url p. 623.
- Proceedings of the Essex Institute. Salem: Essex Institute Press. url p. 53.
- Resources of the southern fields and forests, medical, economical, and agricultural; Charleston, Walker, Evans & Cogswell, printers, 1869. url p. 729.
- South Carolina. Resources and population. Institutions and industries. Pub. by the State Board of Agriculture of South Carolina. Charleston, S.C.Walker, Evans & Cogswell, printers, 1883. url p. 316, p. 316.
- The American farmer's encyclopedia: embracing all the recent discoveries in agricultural chemistry, and the use of mineral, vegetable and animal manures, with descriptions and figures of American insects, injurious to vegetation. Being by Gouverneur Emerson, of Pennsylvania, upon the basis of Johnson's Farmer's encyclopedia. New York: A.O. Moore, Agricultural Book Publisher, 1858, [c1857] url p. 678.
- The farmer's and planter's encyclopaedia of rural affairs; embracing all the most recent discoveries in agricultural chemistry, suited to the comprehension of unscientific readers. By Cuthbert W. Johnson. .. With extensive additions adapting the work to the United States. .. By Gouverneur Emerson. .. Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1868. url p. 678.
- The farmer's and the planter's encyclopædia of rural affairs; Philadelphia, Lippincott, Grambo & co., 1851. url p. 678.
- The farmer's encyclopædia, and dictionary of rural affairs; embracing all the most recent discoveries in agricultural chemistry. Adapted to the comprehension of unscientific readers. .. By Cuthbert W. Johnson. .. Adapted to the United States by Gouverneur Emerson. Philadelphia, Carey and Hart, 1844. url p. 678.
- The plants of Southern New Jersey with especial reference to the flora of the pine barrens and the geographic distribution of the species. Trenton, N. J., 1911. url .
- The plants of Southern New Jersey; with especial reference to the flora of the Pine Barrens and the geographic distribution of the species. Trenton, 1911. url p. 557.
- Transactions of the Canadian Institute. Toronto: Canadian Institute. url p. 240.
- Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. Topeka, Kan.: Geo. W. Martin url p. 125.
- Transactions of the Maryland Academy of Sciences. Baltimore: The Academy, 1901-[1921] url p. 72.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 31, 2012.
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 8760226
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15369355
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:433831-1
- International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 433831-1
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1234509
Footnotes
- Xi-wen Li & Norman K. B. Robson "Hypericum". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 1, 2. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
