Common St. Johnswort

August 25, 2015

Hypericum perforatum L.

Life cycle

Multi-stemmed, shrub-like perennial.

Common St. Johnswort Young Plants
Young common St. Johnswort plant.

Leaves

Opposite, narrow oval to oblong leaves have round to pointed tips and entire margins, and attach directly to the stem. Leaves are covered with small, transparent dots when viewed against the light.

Common St. Johnswort transparent dots
Transparent dots on common St. Johnswort leaf.

Stems

Erect with numerous branches and up to 3 feet tall. Herbaceous stems are often reddish in color and become woody at the base with maturity.

Flowers and fruit

Bright yellow to orange-yellow flowers with five petals are approximately 0.75 inch wide, often with several black dots along the petal margins. Fruit are capsules with three cells containing numerous dark brown to black, cylinder-shaped seeds.

Common St. Johnswort petal margin Common St. Johnswort petal margin
Common St. Johnwort flowers (left). Black dots along the petal margin of common St. Johnswort (right).

Reproduction

Seeds and short runners.

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