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spotted St. John's-wort

sparse-leaf St. Johnswort

Habit Herbs erect to ascending, with rarely rooting, branching base, 1.3–10.5 dm. Herbs perennial, erect to ascending, branching at ± aerenchymatous base and in inflorescence, 3–12 dm.
Stems

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

internodes 4-lined.

Leaves

spreading or ascending, usually sessile, rarely petiolate (to 1 mm);

blade elliptic or oblong to lanceolate or triangular-lanceolate, or oblanceolate, 14–40(–58) × 3–17(–22.5) mm, base cordate to narrowly cuneate, margins plane, apex usually rounded to retuse, rarely acute to obtuse, midrib with 3–5 pairs of branches, tertiary veins densely reticulate toward margins, black glands intramarginal (dense) and laminar (scattered).

ascending to appressed, sessile;

blade usually lanceolate, rarely elliptic to ovate, 5–20(–24) × 5–15 mm, shorter than internodes, smaller distally, leathery, margins plane, apex acute, gland-dotted, less conspicuously adaxially, basal veins 1–5, midrib with 2–3 pairs of branches.

Inflorescences

subcorymbiform to cylindric, 10–206(–600)-flowered, subsidiary branches narrowly ascending to curved-ascending.

corymbiform, to 30-flowered, branching mostly dichasial.

Flowers

8–15 mm diam.;

sepals not imbricate, erect in fruit, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate to elliptic or ovate-elliptic, subequal, (1.5–)2–4 × 0.8–1.6 mm, apex acute to rounded;

petals pale yellow, oblanceolate to elliptic, 3–6(–9) mm;

stamens (20–)30–60;

anther gland black;

styles 1–4 mm.

5–13 mm diam.;

sepals lanceolate, unequal, 3.5–4.2(–4.8) mm, margins sometimes ciliate, not setulose-ciliate, apex acute to subacuminate;

petals orange-yellow, ± obovate, 5–10 mm;

stamens 50–80, filaments basally connate;

styles 2–4 mm;

stigmas clavate.

Capsules

ovoid to subglobose, 2.5–6 × 2–3.5(–4) mm, with longitudinal vittae or elongate to ovoid vesicles.

ovoid, 3–4.5 mm.

Seeds

not carinate, 0.5–0.7 mm;

testa linear-reticulate.

0.4–0.7 mm;

testa reticulate.

2n

= 14, 16.

Hypericum punctatum

Hypericum erythreae

Phenology Flowering summer (May–Sep). Flowering mid summer–fall (Jul–Oct).
Habitat Open or slightly shaded, dry to marshy habitats Bogs, ditches, coastal plain
Elevation 50–1200 m (200–3900 ft) 0–300 m (0–1000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; NF; NS; ON; QC
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from FNA
GA; SC
Discussion

Hypericum punctatum has been confused with H. pseudomaculatum; it can almost always be distinguished by style length and anther gland (black in H. punctatum, amber or pellucid in H. pseudomaculatum). D. E. Culwell’s (1970) record of one specimen of the latter from Missouri with a black anther gland could refer to a hybrid; he and other authors agree that such plants are rare, despite the considerable overlap in distribution of these species. Culwell remarked on the unexpected fecundity of the experimentally produced cross H. graveolens × punctatum but nowhere compared the resulting plants with H. ×mitchellianum, a probable hybrid with that parentage (see discussion

under H. ×mitchellianum. Both H. punctatum and H. ×mitchellianum (but not H. graveolens) display a ring of 16 chromosomes at meiosis, and Culwell suggested that this phenomenon may imply some degree of pseudogamy in the group. C. R. Bell (1965) recorded n = 7 chromosomes for this species; his illustration shows n = 8.

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

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 101. FNA vol. 6, p. 90.
Parent taxa Hypericaceae > Hypericum > sect. Hypericum Hypericaceae > Hypericum > sect. Brathys
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. pseudomaculatum, 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. 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 H. maculatum var. corymbosum, H. maculatum var. heterophyllum, H. maculatum var. subcordifolium, H. maculatum var. subpetiolatum, H. micranthum, H. subpetiolatum Brathys erythreae
Name authority Lamarck: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 4: 164. (1797) (Spach) Steudel: Nomencl. Bot. ed. 2, 1: 787. (1840)
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