Hypericum gentianoides |
Hypericum |
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orange-grass, orange-grass St. John's-wort, pineweed, pinweed St. Johnswort |
millepertuis, St. Andrew's cross, St. John's-wort |
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Habit | Herbs annual, erect, branches strict, in distal 2/3 or from most nodes, 0.7–6 dm, wiry. | Herbs, annual or perennial, subshrubs, or shrubs [trees], sometimes rhizomatous, glabrous or hairy, with glandular canals, lacunae, or dots containing resins or waxes (amber), essential oils (pale, translucent), and/or, sometimes, hypericin and pseudohypericin (black or red) in various parts. | ||||||||||||||||
Stems | internodes 4-lined. |
internodes terete (not lined) or 2-, 4-, or 6-lined at first (lines usually raised), then sometimes becoming angled, terete, or winged; bark smooth or striate, sometimes corky, punctiform. |
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Leaves | appressed, sessile; blade narrowly triangular-subulate to linear-subulate, scalelike, 1–4 × 0.4–0.6 mm, subcoriaceous to chartaceous, margins incurved, apex obtuse to rounded, basal vein 1, midrib unbranched. |
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Inflorescences | usually pyramidal, 1–24-flowered, branching mostly monochasial. |
terminal, cymose, 2+-flowered, or flowers solitary, branching stellate [cupulate]; sepals persistent or deciduous, (3–)4–5, distinct or ± connate, margins sometimes glandular-ciliate; petals persistent or deciduous, (3–)4–5[–6], contorted, yellow to orange, sometimes red-tinged; stamens persistent or deciduous, (5–)10–300(–650), in continuous or interrupted ring or in (3–)4–5 fascicles, fascicles distinct or connate, each with 1–60+ stamens; filaments distinct or basally connate; anthers yellow to orange, oblong to ellipsoid, almost isodiametric, sometimes with amber or black gland on connective; staminode fascicles 0 [3]; ovary 2–5-merous; placentation axile to parietal; ovules 2+ on each placenta; styles distinct or ± connate basally, spreading to ± appressed. |
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Flowers | 3–5 mm diam.; sepals lanceolate to narrowly oblong or linear-lanceolate, unequal, 1.5–2.5 × 0.4–0.8 mm, apex acute; petals orange-yellow to golden yellow, oblong, 2–4 mm; stamens 5–11, 5 separate or obscurely 5-grouped; styles 0.8–1.2 mm; stigmas broadly capitate. |
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Capsules | narrowly cylindric-conic, 4–5 × 1–1.2 mm, length 2–2.7 times sepals. |
2–5-valved, sometimes with glandular vittae or vesicles. |
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Seeds | 0.4–0.8 mm; testa markedly ribbed-scalariform. |
narrowly cylindric to ellipsoid, sometimes carinate; testa foveolate or reticulate to scalariform [papillose]. |
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x | = 12, 9–7, 6 (dihaploid). |
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2n | = 24. |
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Hypericum gentianoides |
Hypericum |
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Phenology | Flowering late spring–fall (May–Oct). | |||||||||||||||||
Habitat | Dry, sandy soil in open woods, fields, roadsides, waste or rocky places, tall-grass prairie | |||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 0–500 m (0–1600 ft) | |||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; NS; ON; PE [Introduced in West Indies (Dominican Republic), South America (Brazil, Paraguay), Europe (France)]
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Nearly worldwide |
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Discussion | Hypericum gentianoides is smaller in all parts than H. drummondii and more branched. The relatively long, narrow capsule is diagnostic, as are the relatively small, often scalelike leaves. Hypericum sarothra Michaux and Sarothra hypericoides Nuttall are illegitimate names that pertain here. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Species ca. 490 (54 in the flora). Shrubs with deciduous leaves, petals, and stamens belong to either Hypericum sect. Ascyreia Choisy (with five stamen fascicles and five styles) or sect. Androsaemum (Duhamel) Godron (with five stamen fascicles and three or four styles). These are all introductions, mostly garden escapes. Those in sect. Ascyreia include: Hypericum calycinum Linnaeus, a low shrub with creeping stolons and flowers 50–95 mm diam. that has been found in California, Oregon, and Washington; H. ×moserianum Luquet ex André, its hybrid with H. patulum Thunberg, a low (sterile?) branching shrub with red anthers; and H. hookerianum Wight & Arnott, a shrub to 2 m tall with narrow leaves and a dense ring of relatively short stamens, recorded from California (its identity requires confirmation). In sect. Androsaemum, H. androsaemum is a deciduous shrub with relatively small flowers and baccate fruits that ripen from cherry-red to black; it has been found in British Columbia and in California and Washington. Introduced herbaceous species with three stamen fascicles and three styles include: Hypericum hirsutum, with hairy stems and leaves (Ontario); H. tetrapterum, with four-winged internodes and lanceolate sepals (British Columbia and Washington); H. pulchrum with cordate leaves and red-tinged petals (Newfoundland, St. Pierre and Miquelon); and H. humifusum Linnaeus, a procumbent herb with unequal sepals (British Columbia). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 95. | FNA vol. 6, p. 72. | ||||||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Hypericaceae > Hypericum > sect. Brathys | Hypericaceae | ||||||||||||||||
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Synonyms | Sarothra gentianoides, Brathys gentianoides, H. nudicaule | Ascyrum, Crookea, Sanidophyllum, Sarothra | ||||||||||||||||
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Britton: Prelim. Cat., 9. (1888) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 783. (1753): Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 341. (1754) | ||||||||||||||||
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