Hypericum majus

Last updated

Hypericum majus
Hypericum majus - aarongunnar 01.jpg
Nelligan Lake State Natural Area, Oconto County, Wisconsin
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Hypericaceae
Genus: Hypericum
Section: H. sect. Trigynobrathys
Subsection: H. subsect. Knifa
Species:
H. majus
Binomial name
Hypericum majus
Synonyms [2]
  • Hypericum canadense var. majus A.Gray (1867)
  • Sarothra major (A.Gray) Y.Kimura (1951)
  • Hypericum mutilum var. longifolium R.Keller (1908)

Hypericum majus, the greater Canadian St. John's wort, is a perennial herb native to North America. The specific epithet majus means "larger". The plant has a diploid number of 16.

Contents

Taxonomy

Illustration from An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States Hypericum majus BB-1913.png
Illustration from An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States

Hypericum majus is a more northern relative of Hypericum pauciflorum . H. majus differs from its relative in its annual habit, thinner leaves, smaller flowers, and doubly branching inflorescence. In the past the species was the western part of a vicariant species including the more eastern Hypericum canadense . The two species became sympatric when north-eastern North America became glaciated and the two now hybridize, most notably in Wisconsin. Hybrids of the two species are shorter than H. majus and have leaves of intermediate length, width, and vein number. [3] H. majus also hybridizes with Hypericum mutilum subsp. mutilum in Maine and with Hypericum mutilum subsp. boreale in Wisconsin and Michigan. The hybrid of latter can be distinguished by its intermediate seed capsule shape, similar to H. × dissimulatum though with more broad leaves. [4]

Description

Hypericum majus is a perennial bearing short leafy shoots with solitary or tufted stems. The erect and stout herb grows 10–70 cm (3.9–27.6 in) tall and has a taproot. The roots are fibrous and lack rhizomes or runners but can grow short offshoots in autumn. The four-angled, squarish, green stems can become ancipitous. The stems tend to branch more in the upper half of the plant but branches can grow from the lower half when the terminal meristem is damaged. The internodes are 1–4 cm (0.39–1.57 in), the upper of which can exceed the leaves. The simple or opposite, lanceolate leaves are 1.5–4.5 cm (0.59–1.77 in) long and 5–15 mm (0.20–0.59 in) wide. Leaves are erect or spreading, planar, and chartaceous. The leaves have acute to rounded apices, cuneate bases, and an entire margin. The upper leaves have five to seven veins arising from their rounded, sessile or clasping base. The basal leaves are more purplish and crowded, and measure 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) wide. The tertiary reticulation is dense as are the laminar glands that create the punctiform pattern. The terminal inflorescence is three to thirty flowered. The branching of the inflorescence is mostly dichasial, with ascending pairs of flowering branches rising five nodes below. The entire inflorescence is corymbiform to cylindric, though in smaller plants the inflorescence is a simple, nearly naked cyme. The cymes are subtended by slender bracts measuring 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long. Pedicels are 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) long and the star-shaped flowers are 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) wide, with the central flower being the largest. The sepals are lance-attenuate, measuring 4–7 mm (0.16–0.28 in) long and 0.8–1.5 mm (0.031–0.059 in) wide. Two sepals are typically longer and wider than the other three. Sepals have three to five veins, with a visible midvein, and lack the punctiform glands. The golden yellow, occasionally tinged pink petals are 3.5–6 mm (0.14–0.24 in) long and 1.25–1.75 mm (0.049–0.069 in) wide, equal or shorter than the sepals. The twelve to twenty-one stamens are obscurely five-fascicled, the longest measuring 2.5–3.5 mm (0.098–0.138 in). The sessile pistil is about 3 mm (0.12 in) long, ovoid in shape. The ovoid to ellipsoid ovary is 1.5–2 mm (0.059–0.079 in) long and 0.8–1 mm (0.031–0.039 in) wide. The three carpels are at first distinct and become indistinct. [5] The three styles are 0.6–1 mm (0.024–0.039 in) long. The capsule is conic-ellipsoid, measuring 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) long and 2.5–3.5 mm (0.098–0.138 in) wide. The seeds are 0.5–0.7 mm (0.020–0.028 in) long. [6] [3]

H. majus can be distinguished from other small-flowered Hypericum species by its leaves with five to seven veins. [7]

The herb flowers from June to September. [8]

Habitat and distribution

Hypericum majus grows in wet or dry open soil in bogs, marshes, ditches, meadows, woodlands, and other damp habitats. [6] It prefers elevations between 0–1,200 m (0–3,937 ft). [3]

The herb occurs in New Brunswick and Quebec to southern British Columbia. To the south it is distributed from Maine to Washington and as far south as Colorado, Kansas, and Ohio. [6] It was introduced into France by 1955, into Germany by 1948, and into Japan by 1974, though the method of introduction is unknown. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Hypericum socotranum</i> Species of flowering plant

Hypericum socotranum is a species of flowering plant in the Hypericaceae family which is endemic to the island of Socotra in Yemen. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and rocky areas.

<i>Hypericum mutilum</i> North American species of St. Johns wort

Hypericum mutilum is a species of St. John's wort known by the common name dwarf St. John's wort. It is native to parts of North America and is present in other parts as an introduced species. It is an annual or perennial herb taking a multibranched erect form up to about 60 centimeters tall. The oval green leaves are one or two centimeters long and are covered in tiny glands. The inflorescence is a compound cyme of tiny flowers. H. mutilum subsp. mutilum and subsp. boreale have a diploid number of 16, and H. mutilum subsp. boreale can have a diploid number of 18.

<i>Hypericum terrae-firmae</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum terrae-firmae is a woody perennial flowering plant in the St. John's wort family Hypericaceae. It is an endemic plant species of Belize.

<i>Hypericum aegypticum</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum aegypticum is a species of flowering plant of the St. John's wort family (Hypericaceae) which is native to the Eastern Mediterranean. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in the second volume of his Species Plantarum in 1753, who named it after Egypt despite it not being distributed there. The plant is commonly known as shrubby St. John's wort or Egyptian St. John's wort in English. Like other members of section Adenotrias, it is found among limestone rocks in coastal areas. While it has been evaluated as threatened on the island of Malta, the species has no legal protections.

<i>Hypericum annulatum</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum annulatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is a perennial herb of varying heights which grows upright, with more than a hundred flowers of a golden yellow color. First described in 1827, the species has a wide distribution from Eastern Europe to East Africa, and its appearance can vary greatly based on its geographic location. It has been used in Bulgarian folk medicine, and has more recently been investigated for its effectiveness in slowing the growth of or killing certain types of human cancer.

<i>Hypericum boreale</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae

Hypericum boreale, also known as northern St. John's-wort, is a short-lived perennial species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae, section Trigynobrathys.

<i>Hypericum hookerianum</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum hookerianum, or Hooker's St. John's Wort, is a perennial shrub in the flowering plant family Hypericaceae native to eastern and southern Asia. The specific name hookerianum is named for William Jackson Hooker.

<i>Hypericum punctatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Hypericum punctatum, the spotted St. John's wort, is a perennial herb native to North America. The yellow-flowered herb occurs throughout eastern North America into southern Canada. The process of microsporogenesis carried out by this plant is prone to errors in chromosomal segregation. It has a diploid number of 14 or 16. Insects are attracted to the plant's pollen and the hypericin in the plant's leaves is toxic to mammals.

Hypericum cuisinii is a perennial herb in the genus Hypericum, in the section Adenosepalum. The herb has pale yellow flowers and occurs in Greece and Turkey.

<i>Hypericum densiflorum</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum densiflorum, also known as bushy St. John's wort or dense St. John's wort, is a perennial herb in the flowering plant family Hypericaceae native to North America. The specific epithet densiflorum is Latin, meaning "densely flowered", referring to the many-flowered cymes.

<i>Hypericum canadense</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum canadense, known as Canadian St. Johns-wort, lesser St. John's wort, and lesser Canadian St. Johnswort, is a flowering plant in the genus Hypericum. It is a yellow-flowering annual or perennial herb native to North America and introduced to Ireland and The Netherlands. The specific epithet canadense means "Canadian".

<i>Hypericum undulatum</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum undulatum, the wavy St Johns Wort, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant native to western Europe and northern Africa. The specific name undulatum is Latin, meaning "wavy" or "undulated", referring, just as the common name, to the wavy leaf margins of the herb. The plant has a diploid number of 16 or 32.

<i>Hypericum denticulatum</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum denticulatum, the coppery St. John's Wort, is a perennial herb in the flowering plant family Hypericaceae. It is native to the Eastern United States. The species has two varieties, H. denticulatum var. recognitum and H. denticulatum var. acutifolium. The herb has a diploid number of 24 or 48.

<i>Hypericum humboldtianum</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum humboldtianum is a species of shrubby flowering plant in the St. John's wort family Hypericaceae native to Colombia and Venezuela.

<i>Hypericum aucheri</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum aucheri, also known as Koramanotu in Turkish, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the St. John's wort family Hypericaceae.

<i>Hypericum coris</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum coris, the heath-leaved St. John's wort, also called yellow coris, is a species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae, and is the type species of sect. Coridium. It is a low shrub, and it is found in Switzerland and northwestern Italy. The species has been a popular garden plant since the 18th century, valued for its long flowering period and for how well it adapts to cultivation.

Hypericum harperi, the sharplobe St. Johnswort or Harper's St. John's wort, is a perennial flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is an aquatic herb native to southeast North America. H. harperi has a diploid chromosome number of 24.

<i>Hypericum vacciniifolium</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum vacciniifolium is a species of flowering plant in the flowering plant family Hypericaceae. It was first described by August von Hayek and Walter Siehe in the Ann. K. K. Naturhist. Hofmus. journal in 1914 from a specimen collected by Siehe in 1912.

<i>Hypericum heterophyllum</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum heterophyllum is a flowering plant in the Hypericaceae family and is the only species in Hypericum sect. Heterophylla.

<i>Hypericum elodeoides</i> Species of flowering plant of the St. Johns wort family

Hypericum elodeoides, commonly called the Himalayan St. John's Wort, is a species of flowering plant of the St. John's wort family (Hypericaceae).

References

  1. ↑ NatureServe (2024). "Hypericum majus". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  2. ↑ "Hypericum majus (A.Gray) Britton". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Norman K. B. Robson (1951). Studies in the genus Hypericum L. (Guttiferae) 8. Sections 29. Brathys (part 2) and 30. Trigynobrathys. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 1. British Museum (Natural History). p. 108.
  4. ↑ Arthur Haines (2011). New England Wild Flower Society's Flora Novae Angliae: A Manual for the Identification of Native and Naturalized Higher Vascular Plants of New England (illustrated ed.). Yale University Press. p.  626. ISBN   9780300171549.
  5. ↑ Gillett, John Montague; Robson, Norman Keith Bonner (1981). "The St. John's-worts of Canada (Guttiferae)". The St. John's-worts of Canada (Guttiferae) (11). National Museums of Canada: 17.
  6. 1 2 3 Merrit Lyndon Fernald (1970). R. C. Rollins (ed.). Gray's Manual of Botany (Eighth (Centennial) - Illustrated ed.). D. Van Nostrand Company. p. 1013. ISBN   0-442-22250-5.
  7. ↑ Robert H. Mohlenbrock (2008). Acanthaceae to Myricaceae: Water Willows to Wax Myrtles. Aquatic and Standing Water Plants. Vol. 3 (illustrated, revised ed.). SIU Press. p. 326. ISBN   9780809327904.
  8. ↑ Nathaniel Lord Britton, Addison Brown (1913). An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions: From Newfoundland to the Parallel of the Southern Boundary of Virginia, and from the Atlantic Ocean Westward to the 102d Meridian. Vol. 2 (2 ed.). Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 535.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.