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Habit Herbs, perennial, [subshrubs]; black glands usually on leaves, sepals, and petals and, sometimes, on stems and anthers.
Leaves

persistent or tardily deciduous, (base not articulated).

Flowers

6–35 mm diam.;

sepals persistent, 5;

petals persistent, 5;

stamens persistent, 20–109, in 5 fascicles, fascicles connate as 2 + 2 + 1;

ovary 3(–4)-merous;

placentation axile;

styles spreading, bases distinct;

stigmas relatively small.

Seeds

not or slightly carinate.

Species

22 (8, including 1 hybrid, in the flora): North America, Mexico, West Indies, Central America, South America.

Hypericum sect. Hypericum

Distribution
North America; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies
Discussion

Species 22 (8 in the flora).

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

Key
1. Herbs rarely with rooting base, bushy; leaf blades usually conduplicate; sepals markedly imbricate.
H. concinnum
1. Herbs usually with rooting base (except H. punctatum), not bushy; leaf blades not conduplicate; sepals not or scarcely imbricate.
→ 2
2. Stems with black glands in raised lines or without black glands; leaf blades: tertiary veins not densely reticulate, black glands intramarginal, (± dense to spaced), and laminar, (relatively few and distal or absent); capsules ovoid, broadly ovoid, narrowly ovoid-pyramidal, or oblanceoloid
→ 3
2. Stems with black glands scattered on or near lines or all over; leaf blades: tertiary veins densely reticulate toward margins, black glands intramarginal (dense) and laminar (scattered); capsules ellipsoid, ovoid, broadly ovoid, or subglobose
→ 5
3. Stems from rooting, creeping base, internodes weakly 2-lined or not lined, without black glands, rarely with reddish glands; petals sometimes red-tinged.
H. scouleri
3. Stems from rooting, not creeping, base, internodes 2- or 4-lined, with black glands in lines; petals not red-tinged
→ 4
4. Stems: internodes (at least some) 4-lined; sepals broadly ovate to oblong, apex rounded-apiculate to erose-denticulate; capsules with longitudinal vittae (narrow linear glands).
H. maculatum
4. Stems: internodes 2-lined; sepals lanceolate or narrowly oblong to linear, apex acute to aristate; capsules with longitudinal vittae and shorter, oblique vittae.
H. perforatum
5. Leaf blade apex usually acute, rarely obtuse to rounded; inflorescence subsidiary branches ascending to widely spreading; anther gland amber or pellucid.
H. pseudomaculatum
5. Leaf blade apex usually obtuse, rounded, retuse, or subretuse, rarely acute; inflorescence subsidiary branches narrowly ascending or curved-ascending; anther gland black
→ 6
6. Inflorescences (2–)5–14(–22)-flowered; petals 11–18 mm; styles 5.6–12 mm.
H. graveolens
6. Inflorescences (5–)13–600-flowered; petals 3–11 mm; styles 1–5 mm
→ 7
7. Stems with black glands on or near lines or all over; flowers 15–20 mm diam.; capsules with longitudinal vittae.
H. ×mitchellianum
7. Stems with black glands scattered; flowers 8–15 mm diam.; capsules with longitudinal vittae or elongate to ovoid vesicles.
H. punctatum
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 97.
Parent taxa Hypericaceae > Hypericum
Subordinate taxa
H. concinnum, H. graveolens, H. maculatum, H. perforatum, H. pseudomaculatum, H. punctatum, H. scouleri, H. ×mitchellianum
Synonyms H. section Concinna, H. section Graveolentia
Name authority unknown
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