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Hypericum perforatum

(Common St Johnswort)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Afrikaans:

Johanneskruid

Common Names in English:

Common St Johnswort, Common Goatweed, Common St. John's Wort, Common St. Johnswort, Goatweed, Klamath Weed, Klamathweed, Perforate St John´s-Wort, Perforated St Johns Wort, St John´s-Wort, St. John's Wort, St. Johnswort, Tipton Weed

Description

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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

Species Hypericum perforatum

Herbs, perennial , 20-60(-100) cm tall, erect from creeping and rooting base ; stems numerous to few, much branched especially distally. Stems 2-lined, with few black glands on lines . Leaves sessile to subsessile ; blade ± narrowly elliptic to ± narrowly oblong or linear , (0.7-) 1-2.5(-3) cm × 3-7(-15) mm; thickly papery , abaxially paler; laminar glands pale, scattered and sometimes black, few, dots; intramarginal glands black, spaced, interspersed with small dense pale ones; main lateral veins ca. 2-paired, tertiary reticulation lax or scarcely visible; base subcordate-amplexicaul to rather narrowly cuneate, margin entire, plane or ± recurved, apex obtuse . Inflorescence 3- to numerous-flowered, from 1-3 nodes; flowering branches curved-ascending from up to 15 or sometimes more nodes below, the whole nearly flat-topped to broadly pyramidal or cylindric ; bracts and bracteoles to 4(-7) mm, narrowly lanceolate to linear, margin entire. Flowers 1.5-2.5(-3) cm in diam., stellate ; buds narrowly ovoid , apex acute. Sepals free , erect in bud, recurved in fruit, narrowly oblong or lanceolate to linear, equal, 3-4(-5) × 1-1.2 mm; laminar glands pale and often a few black, in 2(-4) rows , streaks (basally) to dots; intramarginal glands black, few, or absent; margin entire, apex acute to acuminate with tip somewhat glandular ; veins 3(-5). Petals golden yellow, oblong to oblong-elliptic, (0.8-) 1.2-1.5 cm × 5-6 mm, 3-4 × as long as sepals, asymmetric ; laminar glands black or pale, dots to lines, or often absent; intramarginal glands black or pale, distal, in sinuses when present; margin distally ± crenate . Stamens 40-60, apparently 3-fascicled, longest 6-8 mm, 0.5-0.7 × as long as petals. Ovary narrowly ovoid to ovoid-ellipsoid; styles 3, 4.5-6 mm, 1.5-2 × as long as ovary, broadly to rather narrowly spreading . Capsule ovoid-conic to ovoid, 3-6.5 × 3-5 mm, 1-1.5 × as long as sepals; valves with abaxial vittae and lateral yellowish, elongate or short vesicles . Seeds dark brown, ca. 1 mm; testa finely linear-foveolate. Fl. Jun-Sep, fr. Jul-Oct. 2n = 32, 48. [source]

Hypericum perforatum is apparently an allotetraploid that would appear to have arisen from a cross between two diploid taxa, namely H. maculatum subsp. immaculatum (Balkan Peninsula) and H. attenuatum (W Siberia to China). [source]

In both the SW (S Europe, Mediterranean) and SE (China) parts of its range , small-leaved forms of Hypericum perforatum evolved, and both have been named var. microphyllum (respectively by Candolle in 1815 and H. Léveillé in 1908). This more southern Chinese form (var. confertiflorum Debeaux), which intergrades morphologically with the larger-leaved more northern Chinese form, has small, narrow leaves, with dense, smallish partial inflorescences remaining distinct on elongate, widely ascending branches. [source]

Hypericum perforatum has been subdivided into four subspecies , of which two occur in China. [source]

Habit: Forb/herb

Flowers: Bloom Period: June. • Flower Color: yellow

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 12-18" 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.

Habitat

Open woodlands, meadows, grasslands, and steppes , riverbanks, stony and grassy slopes , roadsides, in dry or well-drained habitats ; 100-2800 m [2].

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,890 meters (0 to 6,201 feet).[3]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 18-24" apart.

Soil: Prefers organic soil. Needs well-drained soil. Good for dry soils. • Minimum pH: 5.1 • Maximum pH: 7.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade.

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b. (map)

Taxonomy

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Notes

Publishing author : L. Publication : Species Plantarum 1753 (1 May 1753)

Similar Species

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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

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 11, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. 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]
  2. "Hypericum perforatum". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 5, 30, 31. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. Mean = 149.780 meters (491.404 feet), Standard Deviation = 220.960 based on 13,242 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/14/2012