( 80 .) 
HYPERICUM* *. 
Linnean Class and Order. PoLYADE'LPHiAf Polya'xdria. 
Natural Order. Hyperici'nea:, Juss . — Lindl. Syn. p. 41.; 
Introd. to Nat. Syst. p. 47. — Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 486. — Loud. 
Hort. Brit. p. 504. — Hype'rica, Juss. Gen. Pl.p. 254 — Sm. Gram, 
of Bot. p. 143. 
Gen. Char. Calyx (fig. 2.) inferior, of 1 sepal, deeply divided 
into 5 nearly egg-shaped, concave, somewhat unequal, permanent 
segments. Corolla of 5 egg-shaped or oblong, blunt, spreading 
petals. Filaments (fig. 1.) numerous, hair-like, united at the base 
into 3 or 5 sets (Polyadelphous). Anthers small, roundish, tremu- 
lous. Germen (fig. 2.) superior, egg-shaped. Styles (fig. 2.) 
terminal, simple, usually 3, sometimes 1, 2, or 5, distant, the 
length of the stamens. Stigmas simple. Capsule (fig. 4.) mem- 
branous, with as many cells as there are styles. Seeds very 
numerous, generally oblong, roundish, without albumen. 
Distinguished from Androscemum, t. 39, by the membranous 
capsule. 
Ten species British. 
HYPE'RICUM PERFORA'TUM. Common Perforated St. 
John’s-wort. 
Spec. Char. Styles three. Stem two-edged, (fig. 6.). Leaves 
elliptic-oblong, blunt, with copious pellucid dots. Segments of 
the Calyx spear-shaped. 
Eng. Bot. t. 295. — Curt. FI. Lond. t. — Linn. Sp. PI. p. 1-105. — Iluds. FI. 
Angl. (2nded.) p.333. — Sm. FI. Brit.v.ii. p. 801. Eng. H.v. iii. p. 325.— Woodv. 
Med. Bot.v. i p. 29. t. 10. — Willi. (7th ed.) v. iii. p. 870. — Cray’s Nat. Arr. v. 
ii. p. 633. — l.ind Syn. p. 42. — Hook. Brit. FI. p.335. — Liglitf. FI. Scot. v.i. p. 
416. — Sibth. FI. Oxon. p.234. — Abbot’s l’l. Bedf. p. 165. — Purt. Midi. FI. v.i. 
p. 351. — Itelh. FI. Cant. p. 307. — Hook. FI. Scot. p. 221. — Grev. FI. Edin. p. 
164. — FI. Devon, pp. 127 dr 178. — Johnston’s FI. of Berwick, v. i. p. 167. — 
Walk. FI. of Oxf. p. 218 — Mack. Cat. of PI. of Ireland, p. 68. — FI Bath. p. 9$. — 
Hypericum, Bay’s Syn. p.342. — Johnson’s (jerarde, p. 539. 
Localities. — In woods, hedges, thickets, and on dry banks. Common. 
Perennial. — Flowers in July and August. 
Root woody, tufted, of a brown colour, somewhat creeping. 
Stem about two feet high, upright, woody, smooth, nearly round, 
alternately two-edged (fig. 6.), much branched. Branches opposite, 
nearly upright, two-edged. Leaves very numerous, crossing each 
other in pairs, elliptical or egg-shaped, blunt, various in width, of 
a yellowish green, with 7 or 5 semitransparent lines, and several 
Fig. 1. Stamens. — Fig. 2. Calyx, Germen, and Styles. — Fig. 3. A Stamen 
magnified. — Fig, 4. Capsule, accompanied at the base by the permanent calyx. — 
Fig. 5. Transverse section of ditto. — Fig. 6. A small bit of one of the Branches 
a little magnified, to show the two sharp edges. 
* From uper, Gr. against, and eicon, Gr. an image or spirit ; it being con- 
sidered an amulet or preservative fiom evil spirits. Dr. WiruEniNG. 
f See Androste'mum officinale, p. 39, note t- 
t “Flora Batlioniensis ; or, A Catalogue ol the Plants indigenous to the 
vicinity of Bath. By Charles C. Babington, M.A. F - . L. S. &c. Bath, 1834,” 
pp. 74. A very useful pocket guide to the localities of the Phtenogamous 
Plants growing wild in the neighbourhood of Bath. — Iti this work the plants 
are arranged according to the .Natural System. 
