st. john’s worts

genus Hypericum

Member of st. john’s worts tribe (tribe Hypericeae)
st. john’s wort family (family Hypericaceae)
dicots (class Magnoliopsida)
flowering plants (subphylum Angiospermae)

Except for historical records that I'm ignoring, there are no other wild species of this genus in the bay area.

Key features:

herb, subshrub, or shrub
petal length
leaf shape

Flowers are sorted by petal length within each category.

herb

bog st. john’s-wort
Hypericum anagalloides

bog st. john’s-wort
Hypericum anagalloides

herb
petals 2–4 mm

all others are > 5 mm

scouler’s st. john’s wort
Hypericum scouleri

herb
leaf ovate to elliptic, not folded, tip obtuse
sterile axillary branches generally < 2 cm
petals 7–12 mm

common st. john’s-wort
Hypericum perforatum

common st. john’s-wort
Hypericum perforatum

herb
leaf narrowly oblong, not folded, tip obtuse
sterile axillary branches generally 2–10 cm
petals 8–12 mm
the only local member is ssp. perforatum

goldwire
Hypericum concinnum

herb
leaf linear to lanceolate, generally folded, tip acute
petals 10–15 mm

shrub

tutsan
Hypericum androsaemum

tutsan
Hypericum androsaemum

shrub
many erect, branching stems
petals 6–10 mm, ≤ sepals
waif at Sanborn, Berkeley Hills

canary island st. john’s wort
Hypericum canariense

shrub
stem many-branched
flowers generally > 1 per branch
petals 12–17 mm

large-leaved saint john’s wort
Hypericum grandifolium

shrub
large, leathery leaves
petals up to ~22 mm
not in Jepson’s eFlora

rose-of-sharon
Hypericum calycinum

rose-of-sharon
Hypericum calycinum

shrub
stem 1 or few-branched
flowers generally 1 per stem
petals 25–40 mm

4 observed taxons / 4 unobserved taxons / 1 key

Chris’s observations: 16 (9 are research grade)

Locations:

Sanborn CP: 10
Skyline Ridge OSP: 2
Wilder Ranch SP: 2
Bear Creek Redwoods OSP
Castle Rock SP

Months:

Feb.: 2
Mar.: 0
Apr.: 0
May: 0
Jun.: 7
Jul.: 5
Aug.: 1
Sep.: 1

For more details, use advanced search.

Taxon info: iNaturalist – Calflora – Jepson eFlora – FNA

Bay Area species: iNaturalist – Calflora