388 



NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



Hi/pericum a^i/ptiacum. 



have specimens of Hypericum, such as H. virginium, Elodes, cegyptia- 

 ciun (fig. 351-353), which have been proposed as types of as many 

 separate genera, under the names Elodea^ E lodes, ^ and TTiadenia? 

 In jS". Druvimojidii, a species from Florida, the flowers are those 

 of Hypericum (such as Brathys, for example) ; 

 but the type is quaternary instead of quinary. 

 The four sepals are imbricate and nearly equal 

 to each other ; whence the generic name Iso- 

 jphyllura,"^ which has been proposed for this 

 plant. 



The flower is equally tetramerous in other 

 American species, such as H. amplexicaule, 

 multicaulej pauciflorunij Crux Andrece, etc. ; 

 but of the four decussate sepals, the two more 

 interior are much less developed than the two 

 others ; of these the genus Ascyrum ^ has been 

 made. 



With all these variations in the flower,^ the 

 St. John's "Worts present as common characters : opposite leaves, 



Fig. 353. Flower, 

 perianth removed {*). 



1 Adans. Fam. des PL ii. 442. — Spach, Suit, a 

 Buffon, V. 363 ; Aim. Sc. Nat. ser. 2, v. 165, 353. 

 — Endl. Gen. n. 5465. 



2 Spach, Suit, a Buffon, v. 369 ; Ann. Sc. Nat. 

 loc. cit. 171, 353. — Payer, Organog. 3, t. 1 ; 

 Fam. Nat. 79. 



3 Spach, Suit, d Buffon, v. 370 ; Ann. Sc. Nat. 

 loc. cit. 172, 354, t. 4, 5. M. Spach has esta- 

 blished in this group many genera which may- 

 be retained as so many distinct subgenera. They 

 may be grouped in two series. To the first, be- 

 sides Euhypericum, Androscemum, Fnmanthe, 

 belong Drosanthe (Spach, Ann. Sc. Nat. loc. cit. 

 355), which has denticulate or pectinate sepals 

 3-adelphous stamens and an osseous placenta ; 

 Webbia (Spach, loc. cit. 356), whose stamens are 

 also 3-adelphous, with seeds spongy without ; 

 Olympia (Spach, loc. cit. 359), which with the 

 flowers of Euhypericum, has very unequal sepals 

 (the 3 interior being much smaller) ; Campylo- 

 pus and Psorophytum (Spach, loc. cit. 360), very 

 near Androscemum ; Campylosporus, Norysca, and 

 Eoscyva (Spach, loc. cit. 363, 364), the flower of 

 which much resembles that of Eremanthe ; Bra- 

 thys (Mtjt, ex L. fil. Suppl. 43), Myriandra and 

 Brathydium (Spach, loc. cit. 364, 365), in which 

 the bundles of the androecium are indistinct at 

 adult age, though the study of development 

 shows that they exist at the beginning. Ere- 

 mosporus (Spach, loc. cit. 355) has thick and 



cymbiform monospermous carpels. (Those we 

 have seen appeared altered, perhaps by the 

 puncture of an insect.) The habit of the plant 

 is that of B. linearifolimn. Whilst in this first 

 series the interstaminal glands are wanting, they 

 are developed in the second, where the stamens 

 are 3-adelphous. Beside Elodea, Elodes, and 

 Triadenia, it includes Adenotrias (Jaub. and 

 Spach, III. PI. Or. 76, t. 39), difi'ering from Tri- 

 adenia chiefly by their biovulate ovarian cells, 

 Thymopsis of the same authors (loc. cit. 72, t. 37) 

 difiers from the true Hypericum by its campanu- 

 late calyx and the almost definite number of the 

 ovules. Sarothra L. {Gen.n. 383) and Receveura 

 Velloz. [Fl. Flum. v. t. 119, 120) are referred 

 to Brathys. Tridia Kokth. {Tijdschr. iii. 17, t. 1) 

 is supposed (B. H. Gen. 165) identical with 

 Hypericum japonicum. 



'* Spach, Suit, a Buffon, v. 432 ; Ann. Sc. Nat. 

 ser. 2, V. 367. 



5 L. Gen. n. 903. — Nutt. Gen, ii. 15.— Chois. 

 Hyper. 60 ; DC. Prodr. i. 55. — Spach, Ann. Sc. 

 Nat. loc. cit. 368 ; Suit, a Buffon, v. 456.— Enpl. 

 Gen. n. 5463.— A. Gray, Gen. Ill.i. 91.— B. H. 

 Gen. 164, n. 1. There are calyces with verj- 

 unequal sepals among the Roscyna and Brathy- 

 dinece, and the flowers of these latter may bt 

 here and there tetramerous. 



^ Yellow, rarely white. 



