ST. JOHN'S-WORT FAMILY 



KALM'S ST. JOHN'S-WORT 



Hypericum kalmianum. 



Named in honor of Peter Kalm, the Swedish botanist who 

 discovered it, probably at Niagara Falls, in 1750. 



Low. one to two feet high, freely branching, very leafy, 

 branches four-angled ; twigs flattened and two-edged ; bark red- 

 dish, exfoliating. Ranges from Ontario and western New York 

 to Wisconsin and Michigan. 



Leaves. — Opposite, simple, one to two and a half inches long, 

 oblong-linear, or oblanceolate, sessile or narrowed into a short 

 petiole, entire, obtuse or acute at apex, rather thick, dark 

 green above, paler or sometimes glaucous beneath ; midvein 

 prominent, secondary veins obscure. Generally with tufts of 

 smaller leaves in the axils of the larger ones. In autumn they 

 turn a greenish yellow. 



Flowers. — August. Perfect, golden yellow, one-half to one 

 inch across, borne in few-flowered terminal cymes. 



Calyx. — Sepals five, oblong, acute, leaf-like, persistent, one- 

 half the length of the petals, imbricate in bud. 



Corolla. — Petals five, golden yellow, convolute in bud. 



Stamens. — Very numerous, distinct, conspicuous; filaments 

 yellow, slender ; anthers orange, two-celled. 



Pistil. — Ovary superior, five-celled : styles five. 



Fruit. — Capsule, ovoid, five-lobed, five-celled, many-seeded. 



This St. John's-wort was first discovered upon the 

 wet rocks at Niagara Falls and finds its most con- 

 genial home in the region about the Great Lakes. It 

 is rather a rare plant. The chief botanical distinction 

 between Hypericum kalmianum and Hypericum pro- 

 lificum lies in the five styles and five-celled capsules of 

 the one, and the three styles and three-celled capsules 

 of the other. In cultivated seedlings, however, these 

 distinctions are not constant and sometimes the cells 

 vary from three to six. 



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