HYPERICACEAE

ST. JOHN'S WORT FAMILY

Jennifer Talbot

Annual, perennial herb, shrub, tree
Leaves simple, cauline, opposite or whorled; stipules 0; blade often with black dots or embedded clear glands
Inflorescence: cyme, panicle, or flower solitary, terminal or axillary
Flower bisexual, radial; sepals persistent, generally 5, often fused at base, overlapping; petals generally 5, free; stamens generally many, free or ± fused into 3–5 clusters; pistil 1, ovary superior, chambers 1–3, placentas generally axile, style branches 3
Fruit: capsule, generally septicidal
Seeds many, small
Genera in family: 10 genera, 400 species: worldwide.

HYPERICUM

Annual, perennial herb, shrub, glabrous
Leaf sessile, ± gland-dotted
Inflorescence: generally cyme, generally terminal, bracted
Flower: sepals 5; petals 5, deciduous or persistent, yellow; anthers sometimes black-dotted; ovary chambers 1 or 3, placentas 3, axile or parietal and projecting into chamber
Species in genus: 350 species: worldwide
Etymology: (Greek name)

Native

H. formosum Kunth var. scouleri (Hook.) J.M. Coult.

Perennial from taproot or rhizome
Stems erect, few from base, 2–7 dm, slender; sterile axillary branches generally < 2 cm
Leaf 1–3 cm, ovate to oblong; flat; base ± clasping; margin black-dotted, lower surface inconspicuously dotted
Inflorescence: flowers generally 3–25 per stem
Flower: sepals 3–4 mm, oblong to ovate, generally obtuse, black-dotted, margin glabrous; petals 7–12 mm, obovate, pale to bright yellow, black-dotted; stamens many, in 3 clusters, anthers black-dotted; styles 3–5 mm
Fruit 6–7 mm, 3-lobed
Seed < 1 mm, brown
Ecology: Springs, meadows, moist places
Elevation: 100–2500 m.
Bioregional distribution: Northwestern California, High Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, Inner South Coast Ranges, Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, Great Basin Floristic Province
Distribution outside California: to w Canada, Colorado
Flowering time: Jun–Aug