Hypericum gramineum
G.Forst. Small St John's WortErect perennial (rarely annual) herb to c. 40 cm high, often rhizomatous and shortly creeping at base; stems 4-ridged, internodes usually longer than leaves. Leaves ovate to narrowly elliptic or oblong, 3–20 mm long, 1.5–7 mm wide, often glaucous, at least the uppermost erect and stem-clasping, margins usually recurved. Flowers in leafy cymes; sepals ± equal, narrowly elliptic, 2.5–5 mm long, enlarging to c. 8 mm long in fruit, not black-dotted; petals exceeding sepals, to 8 mm long, orange-yellow, not black-dotted; stamens c. 15–50, c. half as long as petals, free; styles 3. Capsule narrowly ovoid, c. 5–8 mm long, slightly to distinctly exceeding sepals; seeds short-cylindric to narrowly ovoid, c. 1 mm long, trabeculate. Flowers mainly Oct.–Jan.
LoM, MuM, Wim, GleP, Brid, VVP, VRiv, RobP, MuF, GipP, OtP, WaP, Gold, CVU, GGr, DunT, NIS, EGL, EGU, WPro, HSF, HNF, OtR, Strz, MonT, HFE, VAlp. All States. South-east Asia, Malesia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, New Zealand. A common herb of most plant communities, avoiding very wet or shaded sites, rare in far northern Victoria where mainly confined to sandy soils near the Murray River and its flood-plain.
A rather variable species, sometimes difficult to separate from Hypericum japonicum. Some specimens from the north and far north-west of the state (e.g Terrick Terrick, Hattah areas) are small annuals with flowers mainly solitary in axils, and not confined to the upper part of the plant. This form of the species appears to extend into Central Australia and may deserve taxonomic recognition.
Hypericum involutum is here regarded as a synonym of H. gramineum. Hypericum involutum is based on plants from Tasmania and is thought to occur in southern Australia and New Zealand. This species has been defined by plants that are branched only from the base, have few-flowered, terminal dichasial cymes, more than 30 stamens, and large capsules that greatly exceed sepals. However, plants from Victoria exhibit a wide range of variation and are often intermediate between the two entities described by Heenan (2011). As such, H. involutum has not been adopted in VicFlora.
Walsh, N.G. (1996). Clusiaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 3, Dicotyledons Winteraceae to Myrtaceae, pp. 316–321. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
SpinningSynonyms
Heenan, P.B. (2011). Taxonomic notes on the New Zealand flora: Hypericum gramineum and Hypericum involutum (Hypericaceae). New Zealand Journal of Botany 49: 133–139.
