Hypericum canadense L. var. magninsulare Weath.
Hypericum canadense L.
Canadian St. Johns-wort, lesser St. John’s wort, lesser Canadian St. Johnswort
Canadian St. Johns-wort is native to eastern North America.
Plants: These perennials are 1¾–30″ (5–75 cm) in height, with a single or branching stem. Stems are four-angled and slightly winged.
Leaves: Linear or linear-oblanceolate, that is, straight and narrow or straight and narrow but fatter toward the leaf tips. Leaf tips are rounded. Leaves are sessile, or with a very short petiole, and ⅛–2″ long ⨉ 1/32–⅛″ wide (6–55 ⨉ 0.5–5.5 mm). They are opposite, arranged in a spiral around the stem.
Flowers: While many species of St. Johns-wort have prodigiously flowered inflorescences, this one has solitary flowers, or small branched cymes wtih a few. Each flower is yellow, with five petals with rounded tips, forming a star, and five linear sepals that are blunt or pointed. There are 15 stamens.
Fruits: Capsules are cone-shaped, red or purplish, and ⅛–¼″ long ⨉ ~1/16″ wide (4–6.5 ⨉ 2–2.5 mm). They contain light brown, cylindrical seeds about ~1/32″ (0.5–0.7 mm) long.
Habitats: Wet or dry soils in sandy ditches and clearings, road verges, pastures, boggy or peaty areas, gravelly beaches, and occasionally in woodlands
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Similar species. |
Online References:
Hypericum canadense L. var. galiiforme Fernald
Hypericum canadense L. var. magninsulare Weath.
Hypericum canadense L. var. magninsulare Weath.
6/26/2024 · Morse Mountain, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 4½″ (9.1 × 12 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| 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 | canadense | “Of or from Canada” |
Hypericum canadense description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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