Hypericum tetrapetalum |
Hypericum lissophloeus |
|
---|---|---|
fourpetal St. Johnswort |
smooth-bark St. John's wort |
|
Habit | Herbs (perennial) or shrubs, erect, with woody base, usually unbranched, sometimes with divaricate or ascending branches, 2–10 dm. | Shrubs, erect, sparsely branched, forming dense clumps sometimes with prop roots, to 40 dm, bark smooth and metallic-silvery, without laticifers, exfoliating in thin, curled plates. |
Stems | internodes (2–)4-lined at first, then 2-lined to terete. |
internodes 4-lined at first, soon 4-angled, then terete, dull silvery, glaucous. |
Leaf | blades oblong-ovate to ovate or triangular-ovate, 5–35 × 4–15 mm, base articulated, cordate-amplexicaul, margins subrecurved, apex apiculate or obtuse to rounded, midrib with 1 pair of branches. |
blades linear-subulate to acicular, (9–)12–17 × 0.5–0.8 mm, glaucous, base articulated, parallel or almost so, margins revolute, apex obtuse to rounded, midrib unbranched. |
Inflorescences | terminal, 1(–3)-flowered, branching from apical node pseudodichotomous, sometimes with relatively short branches from to 3 proximal nodes. |
narrowly cylindric, 1–3-flowered, usually with paired flowers or triads from to 9 proximal nodes. |
Flowers | 20–30 mm diam.; sepals persistent, enclosing capsule, 4, unequal, outer broadly ovate, 7–15 × 5.5–10 mm, apex subapiculate to obtuse, inner narrowly lanceolate, 7–15 × 2–3 mm, apex acute; petals 4, bright yellow, obovate-oblong, 10–15 mm; stamens persistent, 100; ovary 3-merous. |
20 mm diam.; sepals deciduous, not enclosing capsule, 5, linear-subulate, subequal, 7–8 × 0.5–0.8 mm, glaucous; petals 5, bright yellow, obovate-spatulate, 10–12 mm; stamens deciduous, 170–220; ovary 3-merous; styles 5 mm. |
Capsules | broadly ellipsoid-ovoid to subglobose, 5–6 × 3.5–4 mm. |
narrowly ovoid to ellipsoid, 6–7 × 2.5–3.5 mm. |
Seeds | not carinate, 0.7 mm; testa shallowly scalariform. |
narrowly carinate, 1–1.6 mm; testa coarsely reticulate-sulcate. |
2n | = 18. |
= 18. |
Hypericum tetrapetalum |
Hypericum lissophloeus |
|
Phenology | Flowering winter–spring (Jan–Apr), late summer (Jul–Sep). | Flowering summer–early fall (Jun–Oct). |
Habitat | Moist, low pinelands, ditches | Pond and lake margins to 1.5 m deep water |
Elevation | 0–200 m (0–700 ft) | 0–10 m (0–0 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; FL; GA; West Indies (w Cuba)
|
FL |
Discussion | Hypericum tetrapetalum differs from H. crux-andreae in having broader leaves with strongly cordate-amplexicaul bases and, nearly always, by terminal pseudodichotomous inflorescences. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Of conservation concern. Hypericum lissophloeus is found in Bay and Washington counties. The larger capsules, one- to three-flowered, lateral inflorescence branches, and smooth-polished, metallic bark (that exfoliates like that of Betula species) are among the features that distinguish H. lissophloeus from H. fasciculatum, H. nitidum, and their allies (H. brachyphyllum and H. chapmanii). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 86. | FNA vol. 6, p. 80. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Ascyrum amplexicaule, A. cubense, A. tetrapetalum | |
Name authority | Lamarck: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 4: 153. (1797) | W. P. Adams: Contr. Gray Herb. 189: 21. (1962) |
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