Interesting Facts
Common Names
Common Names in English:
St. Johns Wort
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.
Flowers: Flower Color: yellow
Size/Age/Growth
Size: 36-48" tall.
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 .
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:
laricifolium
- Juss.
- Botanical name: - Hypericum laricifolium Juss.
- Specific epithet:
laricifolium
- Juss.
- Genus:
Hypericum
(
- Tribe:
Hypericeae
(
- Family:
Hypericaceae
(
- Order:
Malpighiales
(
- Superorder:
Theanae
(
- Subclass:
Rosidae
(
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Notes
Publishing author : Juss. Publication : Ann. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. iii. (1804) 160. t. 16. f. 1.
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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- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- A text-book of botany and pharmacognosy: intended for the use of students of pharmacy, as a reference book for pharmacists, and a handbook for food and drug analysts / by Henry Kraemer. Philadelphia & London: J. B. Lippincott company[c1910] url p. 337.
- Applied and economic botany for students in technical and agricultural schools, pharmaceutical and medical colleges, for chemists, food analysts and for the those engaged in the morphological and physiological study of plants. New York, Wiley[1916] url p. 620.
- Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). London: The Museum, 1951-1992. url p. 337, p. 47, p. 49, p. 67.
- Contributions to the flora of Venezuela: from Droseraceae through Umbelliferae / Julian A. Steyermark and collaborators. 28 1952 Chicago, Ill.: Chicago Natural History Museum, 1952. url p. 393.
- Flora of Costa Rica. .. by Paul C. Standley. .. 18 1937 Chicago, 1937. url p. 707.
- Flora of Peru... by J. Francis Macbride. 13 1936 Chicago, 1936- url p. 58.
- Frogs of the genus Eleutherodactylus (Leptodactylidae) in western Ecuador: systematics, ecology, and biogeography / John D. Lynch, William E. Duellman. Lawrence, Kan.: Natural History Museum, University of Kansas, c1997. url p. 17.
- IUCN Directory of Neotropical Protected Areas IUCN url p. 143.
- Spixiana. 7 1984 München: Zoologische Staatssammlung München, 1977- url p. 22.
- The Gardeners' chronicle: a weekly illustrated journal of horticulture and allied subjects. London: [Gardeners Chronicle], 1874-1955. url p. 244.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 31, 2012.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal December 10, 2007:
- Herbarium of the University of Aarhus, The AAU Herbarium Database
- Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 1822196
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15369010
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:433547-1
- International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 433547-1
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 981952
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]
