Hypericum punctatum Lam.

Spotted St. John’s-wort, spotted St. Johnswort

Spotted St. John’s-wort is a fairly uncommon North Amer­ican native plant. It is named for the presence of num­erous tiny black spots—glands—on new leaves.

Plants: 5–41″ (13–105 cm) tall, with hairless red or green stems. Stems often branch from the base.

Leaves: Leaves are simple (unlobed), hairless, opposite, oblong to oval elliptic, and ¾–2 ⨉ ¼–½″ (1.9–5.7 cm ⨉ 8.3–12 mm). New leaves are spotted with tiny black glands. They are typically widest somewhat past the midpoint. Leaves are usually attached to the stem (sessile), but may be on 1/32″ (1 mm) stems (petioles). Leaves turn brilliant reddish purple with age.

Flowers: Yellow, five-petaled flowers and densely clustered at stem tips, are ¼–½″ (8–15 mm) around. The sepals, most easily seen enclosing the unopened buds, are also dotted with rows of black dots. At the center of each flower is a round central ovary, from which 3 styles extend, like an inverted tripod. The tip of each style is often red. Surrounding this are more than 13 stamens. Flowers lack a scent, and appear from May to September.

Fruits: Upright, ovoid or teardrop-shaped capsule ⅛–¼″ (4–6.3 mm) long, reddish to deep purple. They split into three sections, releasing a lot of tiny seeds.

Habitats: Black soil or gravel prairies, open wood­lands, savannas, river and lake banks, railroads, and roadsides.

Some types of St. John’s wort.

Online References:

Older scientific or horticultural names

Hypericum punctatum description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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