Hypericum orientale | |
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Hypericum orientale at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malpighiales |
Family: | Hypericaceae |
Genus: | Hypericum |
Section: | H. sect. Crossophyllum |
Species: | H. orientale |
Binomial name | |
Hypericum orientale | |
Hypericum orientale, the Ptarmic-leafed St. John's wort [1] or Eastern St. John's wort [2] , is a flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is distributed across northern Turkey, Georgia, the Caucasus, and Dagestan. [3] The species can be found on stony sloped amidst volcanic rocks in the mountains and in light woodlands at elevations of up to 2,300 m (7,500 ft). [4] It flowers from May to June and July to August. The plant has small, bright yellow flowers and grows across the ground in a creeping pattern. It prefers full sun and is ideal for rock gardens, and is hardy down to -30°F. [1]
Hypericum orientale is a small perennial herb that is 7–45 cm (2.8 in – 1 ft 5.7 in) tall. It grows both along the ground and upright, and is sometimes rooting at its base. There are many stems that spread and branch from a taproot, but that don't continue to branch out closer to the inflorescence. The stems are 2-lined and either lack glands or have a few reddish glands which are scattered or in lines. [3]
The leaves are directly connected to the stem and are angled slightly upwards. The leaf blade is 1–4 cm (0.39–1.57 in) long by 0.2–1 cm (0.079–0.39 in) wide, and their shape is between a narrow oval and an oval lance. They are the same color as the rest of the plant, and have a papery texture and rounded point. The edges of the blade have shallow glands and a denticulate (finely toothed) texture, while the base is wedge-shaped with pairs of auricles. The glands on the leaf are pale and point-shaped, and those on the edges are on the denticuli (fine teeth). [3]
Each inflorescence has around three flowers from one to three nodes. There are often additional flowering branches from a further one to three nodes below the inflorescence. The whole structure can be shaped between an inverse pyramid and a cylinder. The bracts are similar in shape to the regular leaves but are fringed with glands. Each flower is around 4 cm (1.6 in) in diameter; their buds are ellipse-shaped and round on the end. The sepals are of varying lengths and barely overlap, measuring 0.4–0.7 cm (0.16–0.28 in) long by 0.2–0.5 cm (0.079–0.20 in) wide. The petals are bright yellow, without any red tinge. They measure 1–1.8 cm (0.39–0.71 in) long by 0.2–0.4 cm (0.079–0.16 in) wide, and there are around 2.5 times as many petals as there are sepals. there are between thirty and forty-five stamens, the longest of which are 0.7–1.3 cm (0.28–0.51 in) long. They have an amber colored anther gland on the end. The ovaries are narrowly oval-shaped; there are around twice as many styles as there are ovaries. The seed capsule is 0.8–1.1 cm (0.31–0.43 in) long and 0.3–0.5 cm (0.12–0.20 in) wide with many grooves. The seeds are a mid brown color; they are 0.1–0.15 cm (0.039–0.059 in) long. [3]
Compared to other more studied Hypericum species, H. orientale is not particularly dense in notable chemical constituents. It entirely lacks hypericin, and has only trace amounts of pseudohypericin and rutin. Hyperoside is the largest constituent, and chlorogenic acid and quercitrin are also present in meaningful amounts. [5]
Hypericum orientale is a species in the small section Hypericum sect. Crossophyllum. The genus name Hypericum derives from the Greek words hyper, meaning above, and eikon, meaning picture. This refers to the practice of hanging the flower "above pictures" to ward off evil spirits. [6] The specific epithet orientale refers to the species' distribution in "the East" or from "the Orient". [7] The placement of the species within Hypericum can be summarized as follows: [8]
While Hypericum orientale was known before the modern system of taxonomy was established, it was first formally described by Carolus Linnaeus in the second volume of Species Plantarum in 1753. Linnaeus gave the following brief description for the plant: [9]
In 1836 and 1842, Hippolyte Jaubert and Édouard Spach described three species that overlapped with the range of Hypericum orientale. H. tournefortii was found in Turkey and western Georgia, H. ptarmicaefolium throughout the range, and H. jaubertii at higher altitudes and poorer habitats. Each plant had slightly different growth patterns and leaf shapes, which Jaubert and Spach used to justify their status as species. [10] However, in Norman Robson's 2010 volume of his monograph on the genus Hypericum, it was demonstrated that all three descriptions could develop from offspring of a single plant put under different conditions. As such, H. tournefortii was demoted to H. orientale var. teberdinum and H. ptarmicaefolium was demoted to H. orientale var. adzharicum. [3]
The following are specific-level synonyms listed by Plants of the World Online: [11]
Name | Author | Year | Journal | ||
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Title | Vol. | Page | |||
Hypericum adsharicum | (Woron.) A.P.Kholkhoyakov | 1991 | Byull. Moskovsk. Obshch. Isp. Prir. | 96 | 108 |
Hypericum buschianum | (Woronow) Grossh. | 1932 | Fl. Kavkaza | 3 | 66 |
Hypericum decussatum | Kunze | 1848 | Index Seminum (LZ, Lipsiensis) | 2 | |
Hypericum jaubertii | Spach | 1842 | Ill. Pl. Orient. | 1 | 38 |
Hypericum ptarmicaefolium | Spach | 1836 | Histoire naturelle des végétaux | 5 | 404 |
Hypericum tournefortii | Spach | 1836 | Histoire naturelle des végétaux | 5 | 404 |
Parts of Hypericum orientale are edible, and it has been recorded as being used in folk medicine. In Turkey, a decoction of the plant has been used to treat hemorrhoids, [12] and it has also been used as a sedative. [13]
Hypericum androsaemum, the shrubby St. John's wort, is a flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. Commonly called tutsan or sweet-amber, the species is cultivated as an ornamental plant because of its striking red-tinted foliage, bright yellow petals, and its large clusters of fruit. Cultivars like 'Albury Purple' and 'Golden Tutsan' which have leaves with more pronounced purple and golden coloring, respectively.
Hypericum olympicum, commonly known as the Mount Olympus St. John's wort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae found in the Balkans and Turkey and introduced to western Europe. It has been widely cultivated for centuries because of its large, showy flowers, which are far larger than those of most other species in Hypericum.
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.
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.
Hypericum bupleuroides is a species of perennial flowering plant in the St John's wort family, Hypericaceae. It grows 45–80 centimeters tall, and notably has perfoliate leaves that are fused at the stem. It has pyramid-shaped flower clusters of 1 to 25 flowers with yellow petals in a star-shaped arrangement. The species is found along the Black Sea coast near the Turkish–Georgian border. Hypericum bupleuroides has a small distribution and specific habitat requirements that make it vulnerable to environmental pressures.
Adenotrias is a section of flowering plants in the family Hypericaceae. It is made up of Hypericum aciferum, H. aegypticum, and H. russeggeri. When it was first described, it was considered its own independent genus, but was later placed under Hypericum and demoted to a section. Its Latin name Adenotrias is made of the Greek prefix adeno- and the Latin word trias. Species in the section are shrubs up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) tall with smooth leaves and bark, and are the only species in Hypericum with heterostylous flowers. They are found around the Mediterranean coast, with H. aciferum restricted to the island of Crete and H. russeggeri present only in parts of Turkey and Syria. Plants of the section have a habitat among limestone and other calcareous rocks. While H. aegypticum has a wide and generally secure distribution, H. aciferum was evaluated as endangered several times since the 1980s, although it is now considered only vulnerable because it is protected in part by a plant micro-reserve near Agia Roumeli.
Hypericum sechmenii, or Seçmen's St John's wort, is a rare species of flowering plant of the St John's wort family (Hypericaceae) that is found in the Eskişehir Province of central Turkey. It was first described in 2009 by Turkish botanists Atila Ocak and Onur Koyuncu, who named the species in honor of Özcan Seçmen, a fellow botanist. They assigned the species to the genus Hypericum, and Norman Robson later placed H. sechmenii into the section Adenosepalum.
Hypericum formosissimum is a species of flowering plant in the St John's wort family Hypericaceae. Found in the cracks of limestone rocks, it is a small perennial herb that grows in a pillow-like shape, has yellow flower petals, and blooms in the late summer. The plant is rare and has a limited habitat in Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. It is threatened by rock collapses, urbanization, and road construction; it is not protected by conservation efforts.
Hypericum huber-morathii is a species of flowering plant in the St John's wort family Hypericaceae. It is a small perennial herb with few stems. It has narrow and brittle stems, thick leaves, flowers in clusters of varying numbers, small yellow petals, around twenty stamens, and three styles. H. huber-morathii is closely related to H. minutum and H. sechmenii, and also shares characteristics with H. lanuginosum. The plant is endemic to Turkey, and is found among limestone rocks in a limited region of southwestern Anatolia. Originally excluded from a comprehensive monograph of Hypericum, the species' placement within the genus is unclear. It has been placed in both section Adenosepalum and section Origanifolium.
Hypericum aucheri, also known as Koramanotu in Turkish, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the St. John's wort family Hypericaceae.
Hypericum russeggeri is a species of flowering plant in the St John's wort family Hypericaceae. The plant is a small shrub with many branches that spread across the ground, and it has many small flowers with pale yellow petals. It is found only among calcareous rocks along the coast and in the foothills of the Nur Mountains of eastern Turkey and northern Syria. While H. russeggeri has an array of phytochemicals present in its flowering structures and leaves, these are found in lower concentrations than other species of Hypericum. The species was first described in 1842 as Triadenia russeggeri, and it has been placed into various defunct genera including Elodea and Adenotrias. It is now known as Hypericum russeggeri and is the type species of Hypericum section Adenotrias, a small section that also includes H. aegypticum and H. aciferum.
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.
Hypericum heterophyllum is a flowering plant in the Hypericaceae family and is the only species in Hypericum sect. Heterophylla.
Hypericum minutum is a species of flowering plant in the St John's wort family Hypericaceae. It is a small perennial herb that grows in tufts. It has slender and brittle stems, flowers in clusters of one to three, yellow petals with black and amber glands, few stamens, and a seed capsule with narrow grooves. H. minutum is closely related to H. huber-morathii and H. sechmenii and resembles a smaller form of the latter plant. The plant is endemic to Turkey, and is found among limestone rocks in a limited region of southwestern Anatolia. Originally excluded from a comprehensive monograph of Hypericum, the species' placement within the genus is unclear. It has been placed in both section Adenosepalum and section Origanifolium.
Hypericum hyssopifolium, the hyssop-leaved St. John's wort, is a species of flowering plant of the St. John's wort family (Hypericaceae) which is native to the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions. It grows on chalky or limestone soil in open woods or scrub at elevations of 500–1,800 m (1,600–5,900 ft) in Spain, France, Italy, Bulgaria, Crimea, and the Caucasus.
Hypericum hirtellum is a species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is native to Iran and Iraq and is found on chalky, sandy soil at elevations of 300–2,000 meters.
Hypericum origanifolium is a species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is native to Turkey, the Caucasus, and northwestern Syria. The species can be found in dry, often rocky, soil and on cliff slopes and ledges.
Hypericum qinlingense is a species of flowering plant in the St. John's wort family Hypericaceae. It is a perennial herb native to the Shaanxi province of China that grows up to 40 centimeters tall. The species has a rosette at its base, stiff and papery leaves, a flower cluster consisting of two parallel branches, and yellow-brown stripes of glands on its sepals and petals. It is similar in appearance to H. elodeoides, H. petiolatum, and species of section Adenosepalum that are native to China. H. qinlingense can be found on exposed slopes, roadsides, and in forests of oak, birch, and fir trees.