286 



HYPEBICACEAE (ST. JOHN'S-WORT FAMILY) 



not separated into clusters; styles three. 

 Capsule long ovoid or conic, three-celled, 

 many-seeded. (Fig. 200.) 



Means of control 



The smaller plants may be hand-pulled 

 when the ground is soft, but many of the 

 plants require strenuous work with the 

 grubbing hoe. The St. John's-worts are 

 considered indicative of exhausted soil, and 

 after their removal the ground should be 

 put under cultivation and well fertilized. 



DWARF ST. JOHN'S-WORT 

 Hypericum miitilum, L. 



Native. Annual or perennial. Propagates 

 by seeds. 



Time of bloom: July to September. 



Seed-time: August to October. 



Range: Nova Scotia to Manitoba, south- 

 ward to Florida and Texas. 

 Habitat: Damp meadows, pastures, and waste places. 



FIG. 200. Shrubby 

 St. John's-wort (Hyperi- 

 cum prolificum). X j. 



Stem six to eighteen inches long, rather weak and flaccid, de- 

 cumbent, branching from the base, four-angled, often reddish. 

 Leaves a quarter-inch to an inch long, narrowly ovate to oblong, 

 obtuse, entire, partly clasping, five-nerved, minutely specked with 

 the pellucid dots. Flowers in terminal cymose clusters, each about 

 a quarter-inch broad, bright yellow or light orange, the pedicels 

 subtended by awl-like bracts. Capsules pointed ovoid, about a 

 sixth of an inch long, filled with seed of dust-like smallness. The 

 plants often turn reddish in autumn and their presence is then 

 noted where they had not been suspected. 



Means of control 



Cultivate and heavily fertilize the ground ; the presence of this 

 plant is considered by many farmers to be an indication that the 

 soil lacks lime. Follow the cultivated crop with clover. 



