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Hypericum punctatum - (image 1 of 2)

Taxonomy

Family: Hypericaceae

Habitat

Moist or dry soil, fields, open woods.

Associates

Distribution

Quebec to MN, south to FL, MS, and OK.

Morphology

Herbaceous perennial; stems erect, 50-100 cm, with few branches below the inflorescence; leaves oblong-elliptic to narrowly oblong, the larger 4-6 cm long and over 1 cm wide, blunt or retuse; inflorescence usually small, crowded; flowers short-pedicellate, 8-15 mm wide; sepals heavily dotted and lined with black, ovate-oblong, obtuse or broadly acute, 2.5-4 mm; petals pale yellow, 4-7 mm, with numerous amber glands; seeds under 1 mm.

Notes

Flowers June to August

Wetland indicator: FAC

Similar to the introduced European H. perforatum L. but lacking ridges on the stem below each leaf and smaller seeds (less than 1 mm). Hypericum performatum also has conspicuous translucent dots on the leaves that are readily visible when held up to the light, these being less obvious in H. punctatum.

References

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY

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