Flora of North America species comparison

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Hypericum ellipticum

millepertuis elliptique, pale Saint John's wort, pale St. John's-wort
Habit Herbs, perennial, erect, with creeping, rhizomatous, ± woody base, usually unbranched, sometimes branched proximally, relatively slender, 1.1–3(–5) dm.
Stems

internodes 4-lined.
Leaf

blades broadly to narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate to oblong-elliptic, 11–35 × 3–13 mm, base not articulated, cuneate to shallowly cordate-amplexicaul, margins plane to subrevolute, apex rounded, midrib with 5–7 pairs of branches.
Inflorescences

corymbiform, (1–)3–15-flowered, narrowly branched, sometimes with branches from 1–2 proximal nodes.
Flowers

12–15 mm diam.;

sepals persistent, not enclosing capsule, (4–)5, ± lanceolate to lanceolate-elliptic, ± unequal, 6–7 × 2–3 mm;

petals (4–)5, pale yellow, sometimes tinged red, obovate to oblanceolate, 6–8 mm;

stamens persistent, 70–95;

ovary 3-merous, placentation parietal.
Capsules

ellipsoid to globose, 4–7 × 3.5–5 mm.
Seeds

carinate, 0.6–0.7 mm;

testa scalariform-reticulate.
2n

= 16, 18.

Hypericum ellipticum
Phenology Flowering summer (Jun–Sep).
Habitat Stream, lake, and pond margins, wet meadows, swamps
Elevation 0–600 m (0–2000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CT; IL; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; TN; VT; WA; WI; WV; NB; NF; NS; ON; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Hypericum ellipticum is related to H. sphaerocarpum, differing by the shorter, herbaceous, rhizomatous habit, shorter leaves, and smaller seeds. A submerged aquatic form (forma submersum Fassett) and one with axillary branches developing after fertilization (forma foliosum Marie-Victorin) seem scarcely worth formal recognition. Hypericum ellipticum is introduced in Washington.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 84.
Parent taxa Hypericaceae > Hypericum > sect. Myriandra
Sibling taxa
H. adpressum, H. anagalloides, H. apocynifolium, H. ascyron, H. boreale, H. brachyphyllum, H. buckleyi, H. canadense, H. canariense, H. chapmanii, H. cistifolium, H. concinnum, H. crux-andreae, H. cumulicola, H. densiflorum, H. denticulatum, H. dolabriforme, H. drummondii, H. edisonianum, H. erythreae, H. fasciculatum, H. frondosum, H. galioides, H. gentianoides, H. graveolens, H. gymnanthum, H. harperi, H. hypericoides, H. kalmianum, H. lissophloeus, H. lloydii, H. lobocarpum, H. maculatum, H. majus, H. microsepalum, H. mutilum, H. myrtifolium, H. nitidum, H. nudiflorum, H. paucifolium, H. perforatum, H. prolificum, H. pseudomaculatum, H. punctatum, H. radfordiorum, H. scouleri, H. setosum, H. sphaerocarpum, H. suffruticosum, H. tenuifolium, H. tetrapetalum, H. virgatum, H. ×mitchellianum
Synonyms Brathydium canadense, H. brathydium, H. canadense var. oviforme
Name authority Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 110. (1831)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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