84 nvpERiCACK-E. (sT. joiin's-wort family.) 



2. HYPERICUM, L. St. John's-woht. 



Sepals 5, sonicwliat equal. Petals 5, oblicjiic, convolute in the bud. Sta- 

 mens eonimonly united or clustered in 3 - .5 parcels : no interposed glands. Pod 

 1-celled or 3-5-celled. Seeds usually cylindrical. — Herbs or shrubs, with cy- 

 mose yellow flowers. (An ancient Greek name, of obscure meaning.) 

 § 1. Stamens irri/ iiumeruus, b-adeiphoiis : jiod b -1-celled, icilh the placental turned 

 fir hack into tin- nils : ])erennial : flowers very Uuye: styles united. 



1. H. pyramid^tum, Ait. (Great St. John's-wort.) Branches 

 2-4-anglcd; leaves ovate-oblong, partly clasping; petals narrowly obovate, 

 not deciduous until after they wither ; stigmas capitate. — Banks of rivers : 

 rare. New England and Pcnn. to Wisconsin and Illinois. July. — Plant .3°- 

 5° high. Leaves 2' -3' long. Petals 1' long. Pod |' long, conical. 



§ 2. Stamens very numerous, obscurely if at all clustered: styles 3 (.Vo. 2 excepted), 



more or less united info one and the sppals foliacLOus, exce/it in iVo. 9. 



* Bns/iy s/tnihs, 1° - &° hii/h, leafy to the top: pod 3 - 5-ctlled. 



2. H. Kalmi^num, L. (Kalm's St. Joiin's-wort.) Branches 4- 

 anglcd : branchlcts 2-edged ; leaves crowded, glaucous, oblanceolate (l'-2' 

 long); flowers few in a cluster (1' wide); pods ovate, fxelled. — Wet rocks, 

 Niagara Falls and Northern lakes. Aug. 



3. H. proliflcum, L. (Shrubby St. Joiin's-wort.) Branchlets 2- 

 cdged ; leaves lanceolate-oblong, mostly obtuse, narrowed at the base ; flowers 

 numerous, in single or compound clusters; pods oblonrj, 3-celk'd. — New Jersey 

 to Michigan, Illinois, and southward. July- Sept. — Varies greatly in size, &c. 



Var. densiflbrum. Exceedingly branched above, 1° - C° high, the 

 branches skiuler and crowded with smaller leaves; flowers smaller (j'-|'in 

 diameter) and mure numerous, in crowded compound cymes. (li. dcnsiflorum, 

 & II. galioides, Pursh.) — Pine barrens of New Jersey to glades of Kentucky, 

 and southward. 



* * Perennial herbs or in No. 5 and 6 a little wood// at the base: pod one-celled 

 with 3 parietal placenta, or incompletely 3 - 4-ctlled. 



4. H. adpressum, Barton. Stem simple, herbaceous, from a slightly 

 woody creeping base ( 1° - 2° high), obscurely 4-angled below and 2-edged above ; 

 leaves ascending, lanceolate or linear-oblong, often acute, thin ; cyme leafy at the 

 base, few-flowered ; sepals linear-lanceolate ; jmds ovoid-ohlong, partly 3 -^celled. — 

 Moist jjlaces, Bhodc Island (Olnei/), New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and .southwest- 

 ward. July - Aug. — Leaves 1 h' long. Petals bright yellow, 3" - 5" long. 



5. H. dolabrifdrme, Vent. Stems branched from the decumbent base, 

 woody below (()'-20' liigii), terete; leaves linear-lanceolate, widely spreading, 

 veinless ; cyme leafy, few-flowered ; sepals oblong or ovate-lanceolate, about the 

 length of the very oblique petals (5" -6" long); pods ovate-conical, jmintnl, 

 strictly \-ce!lid, the walls very thick and hard. (II. procnnd)ens, Michx.) — Dry 

 hills anil rocks, barrens of Kentucky and westward. June - Aug. 



6. H. nudifldrum, Michx. Stems branchcil, woody at the base, shar])ly 

 4-angled or almost winged above (2° -4° high) ; leaves oblong or oval-lanctolate, 

 obtuse, obscurely veined, pale (2' -2^' long) ; cyme compound, many-flowered. 



