Hypericum majus
(Sand St. Johnswort)

Other pictures of this plant:


               Seedpod                                           Leaf                                            Stem                                        Seed                                          Habit

Facts About this Plant:

    Common Names: Sand St. Johnswort, Greater Canada St. Johnswort, Greater Canadian St. Johnswort, Larger Canadian St. Johnswort
    Lifespan: Perennial
    Zones: 3 - 7
    Type: Forb
    Bloom Time: June - September
    Status: Native
    Range:

Hypericum majus, or Sand St. Johnswort, is native to northern half tier of US states. It is a perennial, which grows in wet areas, like ditches, pond and lake shores, fens and bogs. It blooms in mid summer with medium sized yellow flowers.

There are over seventy species of Hypericum in the US, most are native, and many look very similar to each other. This species is one of a group of small Hypericums that overlap somewhat in their range. They can be identified in the following ways:
Hypericum boreale: this species is short, and has oval leaves with a round edge. Its sepals are usually blunt and not tapered to a point. It also sometimes takes on a red tint, but this does not reliably separate it, as the others may do this also.
Hypericum canadense: this species is short and has very narrow leaves, which often have only a single prominent vein.
Hypericum majus: this is a taller, stouter species; it has leaves that are longer and taper to a point, and its sepals taper to a point also.
Hypericum mutilum: this has a very weedy habit; if it gets cut by a mower, it will grow right back and bloom again; its leaves are round and floppy or flimsy, and its flowers do not persist in the sun. It also has blunt, non-pointed sepals.

See the image below for a comparison of the above species. More information will be posted at a later time with a chart for this species group.

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