Hypericum quadrangulum. Square- stalked 



St. John's Wort. 



HYPERICUM Lin. Gen. PL Polyadelphia Polyandria. 



Cal. 5-partitus, Petala 5, Filamenta multa in 5 phalanges ball coanata. 

 Capfula. 



Rail Syn. Gen. 24. HERBiE Pentapetal^s Vasculifer^:. 



HYPERICUM quadrangulum floribus trigynis, caule quadrato herbacea. Lin. Syfi. Vegetab. p. 5S4. 



Sp. PL p, 11 04. Fl. Suea n. 670. 



HYPERICUM caule quadrangular!, foliis ovatis perforatis punctatis. Hatter-. Hi/1, n. 103S. 



HYPERICUM quadrangulum. Scopott Fl. Cam. n. 943. 



HYPERICUM vulgare minus caule quadranguio foliis non perforatis. Bauh. pin. 272. 



HYPERICUM Afcyroti diclum caule quadranguio* Bauh. Hijl. 3. p. 382. 



ASCYRON Bod. pempt. 78. Ger. emac. 542. -vulgare Parlinfon 575. Rail Syn. pi 344. St. Peter's 

 Wort. Hudfon. FL Angl. ed. 2. p; 334. Light/hot FLScot. p. 416. 



RADIX perennis, fubrepens, fibrofa* % ROOT perennial, fomewhat creeping and fibrous. 



CAULIS pedalis ad fefquipedalem, ereclus, ramofus, J STALK from a foot to a foot and a half in height, up- 

 glaber, rubefcens, quadratus, quatuor membra- i right, branched, fmooth, reddifh, fquare from 



nulis, feu alis in iecundum longitudinem pro- I having four little membranes or wings which 



duftis. I run down the (talk. 



FOLIA oppofita, feffilia, ovata, obtufa,' lrevia, faturate | LEAVES oppofite, feflile, ovate, obtufe, fmooth, of a 

 viridia, fubtus pallidiora* feptemnervia, per $ deep green colour, paler underneath, ftrongly 



totam fuperficiem punclis minutis diaphanis | marked with feven ribs, the whole fur face 



adfperfa, margine glandulis nigris fubtus prae- | covered with fmall tranfparent dots, and the 



fertim pundata. $ edge, efpecially on the under fide, dotted with 



I black glands. 



RAMI cauli fimiles, decuffatim oppofiti. $ BRANCHES like the ftalk, alternately oppofite. 



FLORES lutei, parvi, in fummitatibus ramulorum | FLOWERS of a yellow colour, fmall, growing on the 

 denfe paniculate y tops of the branches in clofe panicles. 



kAMULI paniculas fanguinei. | BRANCHES of the oanicle of a deep red or blood colour* 



PEDUNCULI breviffimi. | FLOWER-STALKS very (hort. 



CALYX: Periarthium quinquepaftitum, laciniis T CALYX : a Peri anthium deeply divided into five feg- 

 lanceolatis, patentibus, nervofis, integerrimis, | ments, which are lanceolate, fpreading, rib'd, 



nudis. Jig. i. f entire, and free from glands,* pig. 1. 



divifa ; Antherje fubrotundae, flav<£$ glan- j into bodies or bundles; Anthers roundifh, 



dula nigra notatas. jig. 3. | yellow, marked with a black gland, fig. 3. 



PISTILLUM: Germen obovatum ; Styli tres, pa- f P1STILLUM: Germen inverfely ovate; Styles three, 

 tentes, fubulati ; Stigmata minima, capi- | fpreading, tapering; Stigmata very fmall, 



tata. Jig. 4. I forming little heads. Jig. 4. 



PERICARPIUM: Capsula fufca, trilocularis, trival- t SEED-VESSEL : a brown CapsuEe of three cavities 

 vis. Jig. 5. I and three valves, fig. 5. 



SEMINA plurima, minima* oblonga, nitidiufcula. Jig. 6. f SEEDS numerous, very fmall, oblong, and fomewhat 



I mining. Jig. 6, 



The Saint- John 's-Worts (at leafi of this country) are a genus of plants which, having ftrong characterise 

 marks, and^being fiibjecl: to little variation, give the Botanift no great trouble in their invefligation ; it is fufficient 

 to fay of this fpecies for inftance, that it has a fquare ftalk, and it is at once dhtinguimed from all the others. 



Caspar Bauhine commits no fmall error when he defcribes the leaves of the quadrangulum as imperforate, the 

 leaft attention will mew the tranfparent dots on the leaves to be fully as numerous, if not fo large as thofe of the 

 perforatum-, the antient Botanifts alfo abfurdly enough diftiuguiihed this fpecies from the others by the name of 

 Afcyron, or Saint-Peter* s-Wort, but as it has no pretentions to any generic diftin&ion, we have dropped that 

 name* as tending much to confufe : and while we are cenfuring the faults of others, we mail mention an error 

 of our own; in defcribing the Hypericum perforatum we pointed out a little black gland vifible betwixt the lobes of 

 the antherse, as chara&eriitie of that fpecies, we now find the fame on the quadrangulum alfo. 



This fpecies grows very plentifully by the fides of rivulets* alfo in wet meadows. By the fides of the ditches 

 in Batterfea Meadows it is particularly common, and flowers in July* 



It is feldom ufed in medicine, the perforatum fupplying its place. 



