Hypericum.] hypericace^. 89 



branched fibres. Stems several, from about 1 to 3J feet high, erect or slightly 

 ascending at their hard woody base, which is covered with a deep reddish brown 

 bark, tereti-quadrangular or nearly round in its firm, white, ligneous, perforated 

 interior, but appearing acutely 4-cornered by a reduplication of the reddish epi- 

 dermis into as many very prominent, thin, undulated wings or angles; siaiple and 

 leafless or nearly so below, copiously branched in its upper part, the branches 

 opposite, axillary, erecto-patent, simple, short, especially the lower ones, those 

 near the top of the stem only floril'erous, very leafy. .Leaves pale green, scarcely 

 more so beneath, opposite,* sessile, ovate or ovate-elliptical, quite entire, membra- 

 naceous, semiamplexicaul and almost joining at their deflexed bases, the largest 

 on the stem about 1 — Ij inch in length, and about 9 or 10 lines wide, obtuse and 

 submucronate, depresso-venose above, copiously and minutely pellucid-punctate, 

 with slender, branched, anastomosing veins forming a sort of pellucid network 

 between the principal uerves or ribs,f which are very prominent beneath, the mid- 

 dle one decurrent into one of the four wings of the stem, the alternate pair of 

 angles proceeding in like manner from the pair of leaves next above, and con- 

 nected with the pair next below by a short, curved, transverse ridge, after which 

 the same angles are continued down into the axils of the second pair of leaves, 

 below those from which they took their origin : on the somewhat reflexed mar- 

 gins of the leaves underneath is a row of minute black dots or glands not extend- 

 ing over the disk. Flowers very numerous, smaller than in any other British 

 species except H. humifusum, in terminal, close, subcymose, repeatedly and 

 trichotomously forked clusters on the higher branches and stem, constituting alto- 

 gether an oblong leafy panicle. Bracts subulate-lanceolate, very acutely acumi- 

 nate. Sepals somewhat unequal in breadth, lanceolate or ovato-lanceolate, 

 very acutely acuminate, quite entire, pellucidly (3 — 5 ?) ribbed and striate, bnt 

 neither punctate nor glandulose, erect or a little spreading (not reflexed) in fruit. 

 Petals much longer than the calyx, palish yellow, oblong-lanceolate, soou becom- 

 ing narrow by involution, unequal and somewhat oblique, quite entire, without 

 marginal glands, sometimes a little streaked or spotted with red, veined, but not 

 sulcate-striate. Stamens in 3 very distinct sets or triadelphous, unequal, not 

 longer than the petals ; anthers with a black dot between the lobes ; pollen yellow, 

 elliptical. Styles 3, erect or divaricate, straight, about the length of the stamens ; 

 stigmas purplish. Ovary oblong, sulcate-striate. Capsules 3-celled, purplish red, 

 3 or 4 lines in length, ovoid-couical, scarcely 3-cleft (or tricarpellary) at the sum- 

 mit, undulately rugose and furrowed longitudinally, exceeding the very acute 

 erect sepals. Seeds numerous, light grayish brown, terete-oblong, rounded at 

 both ends, minutely and superficially reticulate, scabrous, smaller than in any 

 other British species except H. humifusum. 



f f Stems prostrate. 



1. H. humifmimi, L. Trailing St. Johns-wort. " Flowers ter- 

 minal subcymose, stem compressed prostrate, leaves oblong obtuse 

 glabrous."— Sr. Fl. p. 80. E. B. t. 1226. 



In gravelly, sandy, chalky or heathy fields and pastures, fallows, and sometimes 

 on stone walls ; not unfrequent. FL June — August. Fr. July. 2^. 



E. Med. — On the Dover and many other places about Ryde. On the stone 

 walls about Appley. Fields near Cowes. On the common by Heath Farm, fre- 

 quent. Abundant in the barren sandy fields below the western side of Bleak 

 Down, by Lashmere pond, &c. 



T-F. JWed.— Northwood park, Miss G. Kilderbee. Colwell heath, near W. 

 Cowes, Parkhurst heath, &c., B. T. W. 



* I have found them in threes. 



t This network of anastomosing pellucid veins is much more complete and 

 conspicuous in H. dubium. 



N 



