ST. JOHN'S=WORT FAMILY, fiypericacese. 



Hypericum An annual and an extremely small- 



mutilum flowered species, diffusely branched, the 



Pale golden branchlets four-angled, and slender. The 

 orange leaves light dull green, oblong or ovate, 



blunt-pointed, and stemless. Flowers 

 scarcely inch broad, pale golden orange, 

 or light orange yellow, with only 5-12 stamens. 6-24 

 inches high. In meadows and low grounds everywhere. 

 Hypericum A ver ^ similar species, but with linear 



Canadense leaves and tiny deep golden yellow flowers 

 Deep golden about inch broad, withering early in the 

 yellow day. The leaves light dull green and ob- 



scurely three- veined, the two side veins scarcely visible. 

 The branches wiry, angular, and erect. The budlike, 

 tiny pods succeeding the flowers are conspicuously ruddy, 

 and exceed in length the five-lobed green calyx. In 

 moist sandy soil, Me., south to Ga. and Ky., and west 

 to Minn, and S. Dak. Found in Campton, N. H. 



Also an annual, with an entirely differ- 



or p"ne"wel 6nt aS P ect from that f the tw Preceding 

 Hypericum species, although it is tiny-flowered. The 

 gentianoides stem erect, diffusely branched, and appar- 

 Deep golden ently leafless; the branches like slender 



wires, and the leaves minute and scalelike, 

 tember leaning closely to the branchlets. Flowers 



deep golden yellow, nearly stemless, and 

 open only in the sunlight. 5-10 inches high. In sandy 

 soil from Me., south, and west to Minn., Mo., and Tex. 

 Found near Brattleboro, Vt. 



A perennial with an erect stem and 



Marsh St. stemless, close-set, light green, ovate 

 John's=wort 



Hypericum leaves, sepia dotted, and with a slight 



Virginicum bloom beneath. The stem, together with 

 Pinkish the leaves, late in the season (September) 



is more or less pinkish or crimson-stained, 

 6 and ^ e seed-vessels are magenta. The 



flowers are pinkish flesh-color, with orange 

 glands separating the three groups of golden yellow 

 stamens. Flowers in small terminal clusters. 1-2 feet 

 high. In marshes, from Me., south, and west to Neb. 



272 



