Hypericum

Low- Lying John's wort ( Hypericum humifusum ) Winged and St. John's wort (Hypericum tetrapterum )

St. John's herb (Hypericum ), also called Hartheu, are a genus within the St. John's wort plants ( Hypericaceae ). The genus includes about 450 species. It is known especially the medically used Real St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum ).

Description

Among the species of the genus are found both annual, perennial and perennial herbaceous plant with plant height 5-10 inches, as well as shrubs and small trees with heights of growth of up to 12 meters. The leaves are opposite, simple, ovate and 1-8 inches long.

The hermaphrodite flowers have a diameter between 0.5 and 6 inches. There are five ( rarely four) sepals and petals present. The many, usually 70, rarely up to 120 stamens are usually grouped into four to five bundles. The fruit is usually a capsule fruit that opens to their dehydration and dismisses numerous small seeds. In a few species the fruit is fleshy like beer.

Dissemination

The locust herbs are spread almost worldwide, they are absent only in deserts, arctic regions and in the tropical lowlands.

Types (selection)

• Hypericum aciferum ( Greuter ) N.Robson: It occurs only in southwestern Crete.
• Hypericum adenotrichum Spach: It occurs only in Anatolia.
• Egyptian St. John's wort (Hypericum aegypticum L.) Hypericum aegypticum subsp. webbii ( Spach ) N.Robson

Swell

• Xi -wen Li & Norman K. B. Robson: Hypericum. In: Wu Zheng -yi, Peter H. Raven, Deyuan Hong (eds.): Flora of China. Volume 13: Clusiaceae through Araliaceae, Science Press / Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing / St. Louis 2007, ISBN 978-1-930723-59-7, pp. 1, online (English ).
• Norman Keith Bonner Robson: Hypericum L. In: TG Tutin, VH Heywood, NA Burges, DM Moore, DH Valentine, SM Walters, DA Webb ( eds.): Flora Europaea. Volume 2: Rosaceae to Umbelliferae, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1968, ISBN 0 - 521-06662 -X, pp. 261-269 ( limited preview on Google Book Search ).