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spotted St. John's-wort

Kalm's St. John's-wort, millepertuis de Kalm

Habit Herbs erect to ascending, with rarely rooting, branching base, 1.3–10.5 dm. Shrubs, erect, forming slender to rounded or flat-topped bush, (1.4–)2–6(–10) dm.
Stems

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

internodes 4-lined at first, then terete.

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).

blades narrowly oblong to oblanceolate or linear, (15–)20–45 × 3–7(–10) mm, base articulated, narrowly cuneate to subattenuate, margins subrecurved to revolute, apex rounded to obtuse, midrib with 9–14 pairs of branches.

Inflorescences

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

usually (1–)3–7(+)-flowered from apical node, rarely with flowers from 1–2 proximal nodes.

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.

20–35 mm diam.;

sepals deciduous, not enclosing capsule, (4–)5, elliptic or oblong to obovate, subequal, 4–9 × 1.5–5 mm;

petals (4–)5, golden yellow, obovate to oblong, 8–15 mm;

stamens deciduous, 150–200;

ovary (3–)5(–6)-merous.

Capsules

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

narrowly ovoid-conic, 7–11 × 4–7 mm.

Seeds

not carinate, 0.5–0.7 mm;

testa linear-reticulate.

narrowly carinate, 0.7–1.1 mm;

testa subscalariform.

2n

= 14, 16.

= 18.

Hypericum punctatum

Hypericum kalmianum

Phenology Flowering summer (May–Sep). Flowering summer (Jul–Aug).
Habitat Open or slightly shaded, dry to marshy habitats Sandy or calcareous dune slacks or swales, rocky shores, plains and low prairies, along streams, sphagnum-sedge swamps
Elevation 50–1200 m (200–3900 ft) 10–400 m (0–1300 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
IL; IN; MI; NY; OH; WI; ON; QC
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[BONAP county map]
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.)

Hypericum kalmianum is a northern derivative of H. prolificum with shorter stems, narrower leaves, fewer and larger flowers, and, usually, five styles and placentae. Natural hybrids with H. prolificum have been reported from Wisconsin.

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

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 101. FNA vol. 6, p. 77.
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. 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. erythreae, H. fasciculatum, H. frondosum, H. galioides, H. gentianoides, H. graveolens, H. gymnanthum, H. harperi, H. hypericoides, 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 Norysca kalmiana
Name authority Lamarck: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 4: 164. (1797) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 783. (1753)
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