Canada St. Johnswort
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated February 2018.
Scientific name: Hypericum canadense L.
Common name(s): Canada St. Johnswort, lesser Canadian St. Johnswort, lesser St. John’s-wort
Links: USDA PLANTS Profile, NPIN Profile, Go Botany
Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)
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- fruit capsule, mid-July
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- fruit and flower, late July
Description:
– annual
-leaves are
- simple
- opposite
- linear
- entire
- -1-3 veins
-4″-24″ tall forb
– may be confused with H. boreale in wetlands, H. majus or H. mutilum; see left sidebar of Go Botany webpage
Habitat:
-lacustrine
-shores of rivers
-swamps
-wetlands
Natural History:
-Hypericum derives from ancient Greek hyper, meaning ‘above’ and ‘picture’
- tradition of placing flowers above an image to ward off evil spirits in the house at a festival that later became the Feast of St. John
Sources:
Go Botany. “Hypericum Canadense L.” Hypericum Canadense (Lesser St. John’s-Wort): Go Botany, 2021, gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/hypericum/canadense/.
Wisconsin State Herbarium. “Hypericum Canadense.” Online Virtual Flora of Wisconsin , Department of Botany , wisflora.herbarium.wisc.edu/taxa/index.php?taxon=3903.