Hypericum gymnanthum |
Hypericum myrtifolium |
|
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claspingleaf St. Johnswort, small-flower St. John's wort |
myrtleleaf St. Johnswort |
|
Habit | Herbs annual, usually erect, sometimes shortly decumbent and rooting, basal branches none, rarely with 1–3(–6) pairs of narrowly ascending branches distally, 0.6–7 dm. | Shrubs, erect, with woody caudex, unbranched or branched distally, 3–10 dm, bark on older stems corky. |
Stems | internodes 4-angled. |
internodes 4-lined. |
Leaves | spreading, sessile or amplexicaul; blade usually ovate-triangular to broadly ovate, rarely oblong (mid and distal blades lanceolate-deltate), 5–25 × 3–12 mm, papery to membranous, margins plane, apex usually subacute, basal veins (3–)5, midrib usually with 1–2 pairs of branches. |
blades oblong-ovate to triangular-lanceolate, 8–40 × (5–)7–20 mm, base articulated, subcordate-amplexicaul, margins recurved, apex rounded, midrib with 3 or 4 pairs of branches. |
Inflorescences | laxly corymbiform to cylindric, (1–)5–65-flowered, branching mostly dichasial. |
hemispheric to ± flat-topped, 7–30-flowered, widely branched, with flowers or flowering branches from to 3 proximal nodes. |
Flowers | 4.5–7 mm diam.; sepals lanceolate to narrowly ovate, equal, 3–5 × 0.8–1.2 mm, margins sometimes ciliate, not setulose-ciliate, apex acute to acuminate; petals bright yellow, oblanceolate, 2–4 mm; stamens 10–14, scarcely grouped; styles 0.5–0.7 mm; stigmas broadly capitate. |
15–25 mm diam.; sepals persistent, not enclosing capsule, 5, ovate to lanceolate, unequal to subequal, 5–8 × 2–4.5 mm; petals 5, bright yellow, obovate to oblong-lanceolate, 8–15 mm; stamens deciduous, 200; ovary 3(–4)-merous. |
Capsules | narrowly conic-ellipsoid, 3–5 × 1.5–2 mm, usually broadest at or near middle. |
pyramidal-ovoid, 5–6 × 3–4 mm. |
Seeds | 0.5–0.6 mm; testa finely linear-scalariform. |
narrowly carinate, 1 mm; testa shallowly linear-reticulate. |
2n | = 16. |
= 18. |
Hypericum gymnanthum |
Hypericum myrtifolium |
|
Phenology | Flowering summer (Jun–Sep). | Flowering late spring–summer (May–Jul), sometimes fall. |
Habitat | Bogs, ditches, open and cleared woods, damp habitats | Moist pinewoods, grassy bogs, pond margins, ditches |
Elevation | 0–400 m (0–1300 ft) | 0–200 m (0–700 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; OH; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; Central America (Guatemala) [Introduced Atlantic Islands (Azores)]
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AL; FL; GA; MS; SC
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Discussion | Hypericum gymnanthum was introduced into Poland; it is now extinct there. It is closely related to H. mutilum; it differs from that species in the broader, usually deltate leaves; fewer, stricter branches; no condensed apical stem internode; and larger flowers with lanceolate to ovate sepals. Hybrids of Hypericum gymnanthum with H. mutilum have been reported from Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia, and, perhaps erroneously, with H. canadense from Virginia. Hypericum gymnanthum has clearly been introduced (recently?) into the Azores, not necessarily by man. Seeds may well have been carried there by birds. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Hypericum myrtifolium is related to H. frondosum; it differs in its shorter, usually amplexicaul leaves, the widely dichasially branched inflorescences, and persistent sepals. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 93. | FNA vol. 6, p. 84. |
Parent taxa | Hypericaceae > Hypericum > sect. Brathys | Hypericaceae > Hypericum > sect. Myriandra |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | H. canadense var. cardiophyllum, H. mutilum var. gymnanthum, Sarothra gymnantha | Brathydium myrtifolium, H. glaucum, H. sessiliflorum, Myriandra glauca |
Name authority | Engelmann & A. Gray: Boston J. Nat. Hist. 5: 212. (1845) | Lamarck: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 4: 180. (1797) |
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