HYPERICACEAE ST. JOHN’S-WORT FAMILY 
ROUND-PODDED ST. JOHN’S-WORT 
Hypericum cistifolium Lam. 
The St. John’s-wort family is of little economic impor- 
tance, although the Mangosteen, a very highly prized Asi- 
atic tropical fruit, belongs to it. About a dozen species of 
St. John’s-wort occur in 
Illinois but some of them 
are not common. They 
may usually be recog- 
nized by the opposite, 
mostly sessile leaves, 
dotted with blackish 
spots that can readily 
be seen by holding the 
leaf up to the light; and 
may be known also by 
the greater proportion of 
yellow flowers, though 
some have flesh color or 
purple blooms. 
The Round-podded St. 
John’s-wort grows 1-2% 
feet high and is simple or sparingly 
branched. It is found on rocky banks from 
southwestern Ohio to lowa, Alabama, 
Arkansas and Kansas. The stems are some- 
what woody at the baseandslightly 4-angled. 
The numerous yellow flowers are produced 
in cymes from July to September. The 5 ovate 
green sepals are narrow and usually shorter than the petals. 
The numerous stamens are distinct and there is 1 pistil with 3 
styles. The fruit is a capsule containing many seeds that are 
roughly pitted and larger than in most species. 
The Shrubby St. John’s-wort, Hypericum prolificum L., grows 
1-4 feet high and has 2-edged branches. The leaves are narrowly 
oblong and narrowed at the base. Often there are tufts of smaller 
leaves in the axils of the larger. The yellow flowers are produced 
abundantly from July to September. The stamens are very numerous 
and the styles are 3. The oval capsule is about one-half inch long. 
This plant occurs from southern Ontario to Minnesota, south to 
New Jersey, Georgia and westward. 
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