286 HYPERICACEAE (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 miutilum, 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. 
Habiiat: Damp meadows, pastures, and waste places. 
Fie. 200. — Shrubby 
St. John’s-wort (Hyperi- 
cum prolificum). Xt. 
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. 
