Hypericum gentianoides (L.) Britton Sterns & Poggenb.
Pineweed, orange grass
Pineweed (also called orange grass) is a native of North America.
Plants: I first noticed pineweed because of its tiny red fruits, growing on thin plants that seem to consist of stems without leaves. I wondered if this was even a “regular” flowering plant—it looked like a ground pine or something similar. Its stems are wiry and green. It reaches 3–18″ (7.6–45 cm) in height, usually about 6″ (15 cm).
Leaves: Tiny and narrow, about ¼″ (6.3 mm) long.
Flowers: Tiny yellow flowers up to ¼″ (6.3 mm) across appear in the spring.
Fruits: The fruits in the fall tip the multiply branched stems with pointed, dark red tips
Habitats: Glades, rocky prairies, open woods, and bluffs.
 |
Some types of St. John’s wort. |
Online References:
References:
Sarothra gentianoides L.
7/16/2013 · Townsend Wildlife Management Area, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 9″ (16 × 23 cm) 
7/21/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 11 cm) 
9/25/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, near Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm) 
8/6/2017 · Andres Art Institute, Big Bear Mountain, Brookline, New Hampshire · ≈ 3½ × 3″ (8.7 × 8.5 cm) 
7/21/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 10 cm) 
9/25/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, near Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 6″ (19 × 15 cm) 
7/21/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 4″ (12 × 11 cm) 
9/25/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, near Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 6″ (11 × 16 cm) 
8/7/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 15 cm) 
8/22/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 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 | gentianoides | “Like a gentian” |
Hypericum gentianoides description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.