Hypericum punctatum (Spotted St. John’s-wort)

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Hypericum punctatum Lam.

Spotted St. John’s-wort

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Malpighiales	A broad group encompassing 16,000 species
Family	Hypericaceae	St. John’s Wort family
Genus	Hypericum	From ancient Greek hyper, “above,” and eikon, “picture,” from an old practice of putting flowers above a picture to ward off evil spirits
Species	punctatum	Spotted, referring (at least in the case of P. punctatum) to the gland-dotted calyx

About plant names...

Spotted St. John’s-wort is a fairly uncommon North American native plant. It is named for the presence of numerous tiny black spots—glands—on new leaves. This species prefers black soil or gravel prairies, open woodlands, savannas, river and lake banks, railroads, and roadsides.

Plants: 5-41" (13-105 cm) tall, with hairless red or green stems. Stems often branch from the base.

Leaves: Leaves are simple (unlobed), hairless, opposite, oblong to oval elliptic, ¾-2" (1.9-5.7 cm) long × ¼-½" (8.3-12 mm) wide. New leaves are spotted with tiny black glands. They are typically widest somewhat past the midpoint. Leaves are usually attached to the stem (sessile), but may be on ¹/₃₂" (1 mm) stems (petioles). Leaves turn brilliant reddish purple with age.

Flowers: Yellow, five-petaled flowers and densely clustered at stem tips, are ¼-½" (8-15 mm) around. The sepals, most easily seen enclosing the unopened buds, are also dotted with rows of black dots. At the center of each flower is a round central ovary, from which 3 styles extend, like an inverted tripod. The tip of each style is often red. Surrounding this are more than 13 stamens. Flowers lack a scent, and appear from May to September.

Fruits: Upright, ovoid or teardrop-shaped capsule ⅛-¼" (4-6.3 mm) long, reddish to deep purple. They split into three sections, releasing a lot of tiny seeds.

There are several varieties of St. John’s-wort, a few of which are shown below:

7/15/2019 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, New Long Loop, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 5 × 4" (12 × 11 cm)

7/23/2017 · Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Pennsylvania
≈ 3½ × 2½" (9.5 × 6.7 cm)

7/15/2019 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, New Long Loop, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 4 × 3" (10 × 8.1 cm)

	*Hypericum ellipticum*	*Hypericum mutilum*	*Hypericum perforatum*
Common Name	pale St. John’s-wort	dwarf St. John’s-wort	St. John’s wort
Plant	8-20" (20-50 cm) tall. Stems are hairless, somewhat 4-angled.<	4-18" (10-45 cm) tall, sometimes up to 31" (79 cm), heavily branched, with a shrublike habit. Branches may be 4-angled or smooth, tapering, and sometimes winged.	Less than 3' (91 cm) in height.
Flowers	Yellow, in clusters of 1 to a few at stem and branch tips. Each flower is ⅜-½" (1-1.4 cm) around, with 5 yellow petals and 5 pale green sepals, a fountain of yellow stamens, and three styles fused into one in the center. (Rarely, the number of sepals and petals may be 4 or 6.) There are in excess of 100 stamens. Flowers appear from July to August.	¼" (6.3 mm) in size, yellow or yellow-orange, with five petals and 5-15 stamens. Beneath the petals of each flower there are somtimes green bracts that are narrower but roughly the same length, one for each petal. Blooms from July to October.	Bright yellow, star-shaped, with five petals and many yellow stamens about the length of the petals. Petals have serrated edges and small black dots on the serrations. Flowers are up to ⅞" (2.5 cm) across.
Leaves	⅜-1½" (1-4 cm) × ⅛-¾" (3-20 mm), and elliptical-oblong in shape, generally rounded at leaf tips, and attached directly to the stem (sessile).	Roughly oval in shape, and attached directly to the stem (sessile). They are opposite, unlobed, ½-1½" (1.3-3.8 cm) long and ¼-¾" (6.3-19 mm) across.	Oval, about ⅜" (1.2 cm) long, with smooth edges, occurring in opposing pairs.
Fruit	Capsules are ⅛-³/₁₆" (4-6 mm) × ⅛-³/₁₆" (3.5-5 mm), ellipsoid, and rounded to a tip.	¹/₁₆-⅛" (2-3.5 mm) in length.
Range/ Zones
Habitats		Sandy forest floodplains, sandy swamps, moist to wed sandy prairies; damp, sandy, acidic areas in general
Type	Wild	Wild	Wild
Occurrence			Common, sometimes invasive

	You are here Hypericum punctatum
Common Name	spotted St. John’s-wort
Plant	5-41" (13-105 cm) tall, with hairless red or green stems.
Flowers	Yellow, 5-petaled flowers, densely clustered at stem tips, are ¼-½" (8-15 mm) around. Sepals are *also dotted with rows of black dots.* At the center of each flower is a round central ovary, from which 3 styles extend. The tip of each style is often red. Surrounding this are more than 13 stamens. Flowers appear from May to Sep.
Leaves	Leaves are unlobed, hairless, opposite, oblong to oval elliptic, ¾-2" (1.9-5.7 cm) long × ¼-½" (8.3-12 mm) wide. *New leaves are spotted with tiny black glands.* They are typically widest somewhat past the midpoint. Leaves are usually attached to the stem (sessile).
Fruit	Upright, ovoid or teardrop-shaped capsule ⅛-¼" (4-6.3 mm) long, reddish to deep purple.
Range/ Zones
Type	Wild