Hypericum Hypericum perforatum, the type species of the genus Hypericum calycinum, an ornamental plant of the genusClades Clade Euhypericum sect. Adenosepalum sect. Bupleuroides sect. Campylopus sect. Concinna sect. Coridium sect. Crossophyllum sect. Drosocarpium sect. Elodeoida sect. Graveolentia sect. Hirtella sect. Humifusoideum sect. Hypericum sect. Monanthema sect. Oligostema sect. Origanifolia sect. Sampsonia sect. Taeniocarpium Clade Brathys s.l. sect. Brathys sect. Trigynobrathys Clade Myriandra-Ascyreia s.l. Clade Ascyreia s.l. sect. Ascyreia sect. Campylosporus sect. Psorophytum sect. Takasagoya Clade Myriandra s.l. sect. Androsaemum sect. Myriandra sect. Roscyna Mediterranean Grade sect. Adenotrias sect. Arthrophyllum sect. Heterophylla sect. Inodora sect. Triadenoides sect. Umbraculoides sect. Webbia
The genus Hypericum contains approximately 500 species which are divided into 36 sections as described by botanist Norman Robson. This division into distinct sections is largely due to the fact that a genus-wide monograph was performed by Robson in 1977, which allowed for a comprehensive analysis of the genus's taxonomy. A phylogenetic study was more recently completed for the genus, which gave evidence to suggest that the genus Triadenum is a clade within Hypericum and that the genus Thornea is sister to Hypericum. In addition, the study found that about 60% of the sections of Hypericum are monophyletic.
Almost all species of Hypericum are either perennial herbs, shrubs, or small trees, but the genus also contains a small amount of subshrubs and annual herbs. Most of its species contain hypericin or hyperforin and some are used for their healing properties in folk medicine. The species' leaves are always placed opposite, and are normally decussate. Their flowers are generally homostylous, but very few are dimorphically heterostylous. The petals are normally golden yellow or orange, but some are white or cream, and are veined dorsally. They have 4–5 stamen fascicles, 2–5 ovaries, and 2–5 styles. Some species grow capsular fruit which are colored red or blackish.
Hypericum species can be found all over the world in temperate to tropical areas. The genus is most diverse in Turkey (~80 species) and China (~60 species), but can be found across Asia and Europe, in parts of Africa and South America, Australia, and across the United States and southern Canada. Non-native species have also been introduced into various regions of the United States and Argentina. The genus are generally found in dry, desert areas to being in shallow water, and can be found from warm temperate climates to cold temperate climates.
Some Hypericum species are used as ornamental plants because of their large, spreading flowers. These include H. aegypticum, H. androsaemum, H. calycinum, and H. olympicum. In addition, there are a number of hybrids and cultivars that have been developed for use in horticulture. Some notable cultivars are H. × moserianum, H. 'Hidcote', and H. 'Rowallane'. Several species are also used for their medicinal properties, especially their ability to alleviate mild clinical depression, by drawing out the oily extract from the flowers. H. perforatum is the most potent out of all the species, and is the only species cultivated commercially for herbalism and medicine. __NOTOC__
Legend Type species Binomial The binomial name of the Hypericum species.Common nameThe name that the species is commonly called Type The type of plant that the species is described as Distribution The country or region where the species is most densely found
Sect. Adenosepalum Adenosepalum Spach is divided into four subsections: Adenosepalum, Aethiopica, Caprifolia, and the Huber-Morathii Group. These subsections contain eight, seven, eleven, and five species, respectively, giving the section Adenosepalum a total of thirty-one species. In addition, Adenosepalum contains two Nothospecies: H. × joerstadii and H. pubescens × tomentosum. H. annulatum has three distinct subspecies.
Adenosepalum is made up of primarily perennial herbs, and also includes shrubs and shrublets. Its species grow to be approximately 2.5 meters tall, and are generally deciduous. Species in Adenosepalum are glabrous or have simple hairs, and almost always have dark black glands on their leaves, sepals, and rarely on their petals and stems. Their leaves are placed opposite and have no ventral glands. Their flowers are stellate or homostylous. They have 5 sepals, 5 stamen fascicles, and 5 petals. BinomialCommon name Type Distribution Image ReferencesSubsection Adenosepalum H. annulatum Moris (1827) Perennial herb Balkans, Saudi Arabia, East Africa H. athoum Boiss. & Orph. (1867) Perennial herb Greece H. atomarium Boiss. (1827) Perennial herb Greece, Turkey, Portugal (Naturalized) H. cuisinii Barbey (1885) Perennial herb Europe H. delphicum Boiss. & Heldr. (1854) Perennial herb Evvoia and Andros, Greece H. lanuginosum Lam. (1797) Perennial herb Middle East, Turkey, Cyprus H. montanum L. (1755) Pale St. John's Wort Perennial herb Eurasia and Morocco H. reflexum L.f. (1782) Shrub Canary Islands Subsection Aethiopica H. abilianum N.Robson (1980) Subshrub Huíla Province, Angola H. aethiopicum Thunb. (1800) Perennial herb Southern Africa H. afrum Lam. (1797) Perennial herb Tunisia, Algeria H. conjungens N.Robson (1958) Shrub/subshrub Southwest Tanzania to Zambia H. glandulosum Aiton (1789) Malfurada del Monte Shrub Canary Islands and Madeira H. kiboënse Oliv. (1887) Shrub/Subshrub Uganda, Kenya and North Tanzania Subsection Caprifolia H. caprifolium Boiss. (1838) Perennial herb Spain H. coadunatum Chr. Sm. (1825) Subshrub/Perennial herb Canary Islands H. collenetteae N.Robson (1993) Subshrub/Perennial herb Saudi Arabia H. naudinianum Coss. & Durieu (1855) Perennial herb Morocco, Algeria H. psilophytum (Diels) Maire (1935) Perennial herb Morocco, Algeria H. pubescens Boiss. (1838) Perennial herb Southern Iberia, North Africa H. scruglii Bacch., Brullo & Salmeri (2010) Perennial herb Sardinia H. sinaicum Hochst. ex Boiss. (1867) Perennial herb Egypt, Arabian Peninsula H. somaliense N.Robson (1958) Perennial herb Somalia H. tomentosum L. (1753) Perennial herb Western Mediterranean Huber-Morathii Group H. decaisneanum Coss. & Daveau (1889) Perennial herb Libya H. formosissimum Takht. (1940) Perennial herb Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey H. huber-morathii N.Robson (1967) Perennial herb Anatolia, Turkey H. minutum P.H.Davis & Poulter (1954) Perennial herb Mediterranean H. sechmenii Ocak & O.Koyuncu (2009) Perennial herb Turkey
Sect. Adenotrias Adenotrias (Jaub. & Spach) R. Keller contains three species: H. aciferum, H. aegypticum, and H. russeggeri. Its type species is H. russeggeri. It is not divided into any subsections. H. aegypticum has three subspecies: H. aegypticum aegypticum L., H. aegypticum maroccanum (Pau) N.Robson, and H. aegypticum webbii (Spach) N.Robson.
Adenotrias contains shrubs and shrublets. Its species can grow to be up to 2 meters tall. Its species are glabrous, but have no dark glands. Their leaves are lined and glandular, and are cortex green. Their flowers are almost tubular, and are heterostylous. They have 5 sepals, 5 petals, and 3 stamen fascicles. BinomialCommon name Type Distribution Image References H. aciferum (Greuter) N.Robson (1967) Shrublet Crete H. aegypticum L. (1753) Egyptian St. John's Wort Shrub/shrublet North Africa, Greece, Sardinia H. russeggeri (Fenzl) R.Keller Shrub/shrublet Turkey, Syria
Sect. Androsaemum Androsaemum (Duhamel) Godron contains four species: H. androsaemum, H. foliosum, H. grandifolium, and H. hircinum. In addition, Androsaemum contains one Nothospecies: H. × inodorum. It is not divided into subsections. Its type species is H. androsaemum. One of its species, H. grandifolium, has five different subspecies. The section's species are often collectively referred to as Tutsan.
Androsaemum contains shrubs that grow to be from 0.3–2 meters tall. Its species are deciduous and glabrous, but have no dark glands. Their leaves are opposite, decussate, free, and are a pale color. Every species has 20 flowers, branching out from 2 separate nodes, which are homostylous. They have 5 sepals, 5 petals, and 5 stamen fascicles. BinomialCommon name Type Distribution Image References H. androsaemum L. (1753)Sweet-Amber Shrub Southern Europe, North Africa H. foliosum Aiton (1789)Azorean St. John's Wort ShrubPortugal (The Azores) H. grandifolium Choisy (1821)Malfurada Shrub Madeira and the Canary Islands H. hircinum L. (1753)Stinking Tutsan Shrub France, Iberia, Italy, Middle East, North Africa
Sect. Arthrophyllum Arthrophyllum Jaub. & Spach contains five species, and is not divided into any subsections. Its type species is H. rupestre. Arthrophyllum is most closely related to Webbia.
Arthrophyllum contains shrubs that grow to be approximately 0.9 meters tall and are deciduous but never leafless. Species in Arthrophyllum are glabrous, with reddish to dark glands. Their leaves are placed opposite and are either decussate, sessile, free, or perfoliate and have no ventral glands. They are 40-flowered, and their flowers are stellate and homostylous. They have 5 sepals that lack marginal glands. Arthrophyllum's species also have 5 petals and 3 stamen fascicles, each with 20–40 stamens. Their seeds are narrow and cylindrical. BinomialCommon name Type DistributionImage References H. cardiophyllum Boiss. (1867) Shrub Turkey, Lebanon and Syria H. nanum Poir. (1814) Shrub Lebanon, Syria and Israel H. pamphylicum N.Robson & P.H.Davis (1980) Shrub Turkey H. rupestre Jaub. & Spach (1842) Shrub Turkey H. vacciniifolium Hayek & Siehe (1914) Shrub East Cilicia, Southern Turkey
Sect. Ascyreia Ascyreia Choisy contains about 50 species and also includes four nothospecies. The section is one of the largest in the genus that is not divided into any subsections. Its type species is H. calycinum. The section is synonymous with Norysca Spach..
Ascyreia is made up of mostly shrubs or shrublets, but also contains a few trees. Its species generally grow to be from 4–5 meters tall. Some of the species are evergreen, but most are deciduous. They are glabrous, and lack dark glands. Their leaves are opposite, decussate, and free. The section's species have anywhere from 1–25 flowers, which are stellate and homostylous. They have five sepals, which are free. They also have five petals and five stamen fascicles, which each have 20–100 stamens. Their seeds are cylindric or ellipsoid, and some are laterally winged. BinomialCommon name Type Distribution Image References H. acmosepalum N.Robson (1970) Shrub China H. addingtonii N.Robson (1985) Addington's St. John's Wort Shrub China H. augustinii N.Robson (1970) Augustine's St. John's Wort Shrub China H. beanii N.Robson (1970) Shrub China H. bellum H.L.Li (1944) Shrub China H. calycinum L. (1767) Great St. John's Wort Aaron's Beard
Rose of Sharon Shrub Bulgaria, Turkey H. choisianum Wall. ex N.Robson (1973) Shrub China, India, Pakistan H. cohaerens N.Robson (1985) Shrub China H. cordifolium Choisy (1824) Shrub Nepal H. curvisepalum N.Robson (1985) Shrub China H. elatoides R.Keller (1904) subshrub China H. forrestii (Chitt.) N.Robson (1970) Forest Tutsan Shrub China, Burma H. gaitii Haines (1919) Shrub India H. gracilipes Stapf ex C.E.C.Fisch. (1940) Shrub India, Bangladesh H. griffithii Hook.f. & Thomson ex Dyer (1874) Shrub Bhutan, India H. henryi H.Lév. & Vaniot (1908) Shrub China, Southeast Asia H. hookerianum Wight & Arn. (1834)Hooker's St. John's Wort Shrub East and South Asia H. kouytchense H.Lév. (1904) Shrub China H. lacei N.Robson (1985) Shrub Myanmar H. lagarocladum N.Robson (1985) Shrub China H. lancasteri N.Robson (1985) Shrub China H. leschenaultii Choisy (1824) Shrub/small tree Indonesia H. lobbii N.Robson (1970) Shrub India H. longistylum Oliv. China H. maclarenii N.Robson (1985) Shrub China H. monogynum