- You are here:
- Full Key
- Woody plants
- Broad-leaved woody plants
- Hypericum prolificum
Hypericum prolificum — shrubby St. John's-wort
Copyright: various copyright holders. To reuse an image, please click it to see who you will need to contact.
Facts
Shrubby St. John's-wort produces "prolific" numbers of stamens on its flowers, which are so numerous they almost obscure the yellow petals during peak bloom time in July. This adaptable shrub, with peeling brown bark, is a drought-tolerant member of many gardens south and west of New England. In our region, it inhabits man-made habitats and is not considered native, even though it is listed as endangered in neighboring New York and New Jersey.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges, meadows and fields
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.
Characteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Growth form
- the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaves per node
- there are two leaves per node along the stem
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
- Leaf blade length
- 30–80 mm
- Leaf blade width
- 4–15 mm
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe
- Bark texture
-
- the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
- the bark of an adult plant peels off easily or hangs off
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- orange
-
Buds or leaf scars
- Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
- NA
-
Flowers
- Carpels fused
- the carpels are fused to one another
- Enlarged sterile flowers
- there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
- Flower petal color
-
- orange
- yellow or green
- Flower symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
- Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
- NA
- Hypanthium present
- the flower does not have a hypanthium
- Inflorescence type
-
- the inflorescence has only one flower on it
- the inflorescence is a fascicle (compact cluster of flowers)
- Number of pistils
- 1
- Ovary position
- the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
- Petal and sepal arrangement
- the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
- Petal appearance
- the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
- Petal fusion
- the perianth parts are separate
- Sepal cilia (Ilex)
- NA
- Stamen number
- 13 or more
-
Fruits or seeds
- Berry color
- NA
- Fruit tissue origin
- there are no flower parts that form part of the fruit
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe
- Fruit type (specific)
- the fruit is a capsule (splits along two or more seams, apical teeth or pores when dry, to release two or more seeds)
- Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
- NA
- Wings on fruit
- there are no wings on the fruit
-
Glands or sap
- Sap color
- the sap is clear and watery
- Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
- NA
-
Growth form
- Growth form
- the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
-
Leaves
- Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
- the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
- Leaf blade base shape
- the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
- Leaf blade edges (Acer)
- NA
- Leaf blade hairs
- at least some of the hairs on the leaf blade have glands at their tips
- Leaf blade length
- 30–80 mm
- Leaf blade scales
- there are no scales on the leaf blades
- Leaf blade shape
-
- the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
- the leaf blade is linear (very narrow with more or less parallel sides)
- the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends)
- Leaf blade translucent dots
- the leaf blade has translucent dots on it
- Leaf blade width
- 4–15 mm
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
- NA
- Leaf midrib glands
- the midrib of the leaf blade lacks glands on the upper surface
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Leaf stalk nectaries
- there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk
- Leaf teeth
- the edge of the leaf blade is entire (has no teeth or lobes)
- Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
- NA
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaves per node
- there are two leaves per node along the stem
- Specific leaf type
- the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
-
- edges of forests
- man-made or disturbed habitats
- meadows or fields
-
Scent
- Plant odor
- the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Aerial roots
- the plant has no aerial roots
- Bark texture
-
- the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
- the bark of an adult plant peels off easily or hangs off
- Branch brittleness (willows only)
- NA
- Branch cross-section
- the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
- First-year cane (Rubus)
- NA
- Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
- NA
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- orange
- Wings on branch
- the branch does not have wings on it
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
Wetland status
Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but occasionally in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACU)
In New England
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- present
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- present
- Rhode Island
- present
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Massachusetts
- not applicable (S-rank: SNA)
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
13. Hypericum prolificum L. E
shrubby St. John’s-wort. Hypericum spathulatum (Spach) Steud. • CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT. Fields, forest edges, roadsides.
Native to North America?
Yes and no (some introduced)
Sometimes confused with
- Hypericum densiflorum:
- terminal cyme with 7 or more flowers, leaf blades mostly 3–7 mm wide, and capsules 1.5-3 mm wide (vs. H. prolificum, with the terminal cyme with mostly 3–7 flowers, leaf blades mostly 7–15 mm wide, and capsules 3-5 mm wide).
- Hypericum frondosum:
- inflorescence usually of solitary, terminal flowers, longer sepals 10–15 mm long, and petals 10–20 mm long (vs. H. prolificum, with the inflorescence a terminal cyme mostly 3-7 flowers, sepals 7 mm long or shorter, and 10 mm long or shorter).
Synonyms
- Hypericum spathulatum (Spach) Steud.