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false spotted St. Johnswort

St. Andrew's cross

Habit Herbs erect or ascending to divaricate, with rooting, sometimes creeping, branching base, 4–9.5 dm. Subshrubs or shrubs, erect or decumbent to prostrate, unbranched or branched, sometimes diffuse and mat-forming, 0.5–3 or 3–15 dm.
Stems

sometimes clustered, internodes not lined, with black glands scattered all over.

internodes 2-winged.

Leaves

usually ascending, sometimes spreading, sessile;

blade usually ovate-lanceolate to triangular-lanceolate or narrowly elliptic, rarely ovate, 18–45 × 6–16(–20) mm, base cordate to rounded, margins plane, apex usually acute, rarely obtuse to rounded, midrib with 3–4 pairs of branches, tertiary veins densely reticulate toward margins, black glands intramarginal (dense) and laminar (scattered).

blades oblanceolate or narrowly oblong or elliptic to linear, 7–25 × 1–8.5 mm, base not articulated, usually cuneate, sometimes rounded, with glandlike auricles, margins subrecurved, apex rounded to obtuse, midrib with 1–2 pairs of branches.

Inflorescences

subcorymbiform to broadly pyramidal, 16–164(–280)-flowered, subsidiary branches ascending to widely spreading.

narrowly cylindric to pyramidal, 1–12-flowered from 1–4 nodes, sometimes with branches from to 10 proximal nodes, or branching more elaborate and pseudodichotomous;

pedicels erect in fruit, bracteoles distal.

Flowers

10–20 mm diam.;

sepals not imbricate, erect in fruit, lanceolate to ovate or elliptic-oblong, subequal, (3–)3.7–4.9(–6) mm, apex acute;

petals yellow, usually obovate, rarely elliptic, 6–14 mm;

stamens 38–61;

anther gland amber or pellucid;

styles 5.4–8.5 mm.

10–20 mm diam.;

sepals persistent, enclosing capsule, 4, unequal, outer ovate-suborbiculate to narrowly elliptic, 5–12.5 × 2–13 mm, apex subapiculate to obtuse, inner lanceolate, 1–4 × 2 mm, apex acute;

petals 4, bright to pale yellow, obovate to narrowly oblong-elliptic, 6–12 mm;

stamens persistent, 40–50;

ovary 2-merous.

Capsules

broadly ovoid, 3–6 × 2–4 mm, with longitudinal and lateral vittae or vesicles or only ovoid vesicles (all amber).

narrowly compressed-ovoid to cylindric-ellipsoid, 5–9 × 2–4 mm.

Seeds

not or scarcely carinate, 0.6–0.8 mm;

testa linear-reticulate.

not carinate, 0.6–0.8 mm;

testa finely linear-reticulate to linear-foveolate.

2n

= 16.

Hypericum pseudomaculatum

Hypericum hypericoides

Phenology Flowering mid summer (Jun–Jul).
Habitat Open and partially shaded, dry areas of woods, among rocks, fields, roadsides, well-drained soil
Elevation 100–700 m (300–2300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; IL; LA; MO; MS; OK; SC; TN; TX
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; DC; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV; Mexico; West Indies (Bahamas, Greater Antilles); Bermuda; Central America (Guatemala, Honduras)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Hypericum pseudomaculatum has been confused with H. punctatum; they are quite distinct and they rarely, if ever, hybridize. The affinities of H. pseudomaculatum are with Mexican H. formosum Kunth.

J. A. Steyermark (1963) recognized two distinct floral forms in Missouri: forma pseudomaculatum with orange-yellow petals and stamen filaments, and forma flavidum in which these parts are pale, creamy yellow. The distribution of these two forms within the whole range of the species is unknown.

Hypericum elatum Aiton (a synonym of H. ×inodorum Miller = H. androsaemum Linnaeus × hircinum Linnaeus) was wrongly cited as from North America by Aiton and was not conclusively recognized as an Old World taxon until J. M. Coulter (1886) published his account of North American Hypericum.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Subspecies 3 (2 in the flora).

Hypericum hypericoides can be distinguished from H. crux-andreae by the two-merous ovary, narrower leaves, smaller flowers, and more richly-branched stems. It is variable in leaf and sepal shape and size; three subspecies can be recognized.

The erect bushy form (subsp. hypericoides) is most widespread and has given rise to a northern diffuse form (subsp. multicaule) in the United States and a prostrate form (subsp. prostratum N. Robson) in Hispaniola.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Plants erect, usually unbranched from base and freely branched well above ground level; leaf blades usually narrowly elliptic to narrowly oblong, broadest near middle.
subsp. hypericoides
1. Plants decumbent to prostrate, branching from base; leaf blades usually oblanceolate, broadest beyond middle.
subsp. multicaule
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 102. FNA vol. 6, p. 87.
Parent taxa Hypericaceae > Hypericum > sect. Hypericum 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. ellipticum, 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. punctatum, H. radfordiorum, H. scouleri, H. setosum, H. sphaerocarpum, H. suffruticosum, H. tenuifolium, H. tetrapetalum, H. virgatum, H. ×mitchellianum
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. ellipticum, H. erythreae, H. fasciculatum, H. frondosum, H. galioides, H. gentianoides, H. graveolens, H. gymnanthum, H. harperi, 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
Subordinate taxa
H. hypericoides subsp. hypericoides, H. hypericoides subsp. multicaule
Synonyms H. punctatum var. pseudomaculatum Ascyrum hypericoides
Name authority Bush ex Britton: Man. Fl. N. States, 627. (1901) (Linnaeus) Crantz: Inst. Rei Herb. 2: 520. (1766)
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