Hypericum elongatum Ledeb.

Herbs, perennial, 15-50 cm tall, erect, sometimes with prostrate to ascending vegetative shoots from the base, with short or fascicled branches in most leaf axils. Stems 2-lined, glaucescent, eglandular or rarely with very few amber gland dots toward base. Leaves sessile; those on main stem narrowly oblong to linear, 1.2-3.2 cm × 1-4.5(-6) mm; thickly papery, ± glaucous, glabrous or adaxially sometimes finely undulate-papillose; laminar glands numerous, pale dots; lateral veins 2-4-paired (?or absent), tertiary reticulation not visible; base narrowly to broadly cuneate, margin entire and usually revolute, apex acute to obtuse or subapiculate. Leaves on vegetative shoots smaller, narrower, adaxially more markedly papillose, often fascicled, apex apiculate to mucronate. Inflorescence many flowered, from 5-12(-17) nodes; flowering branches from up to 3 nodes below, the whole ± narrowly cylindric, 8-25 cm; bracts and bracteoles narrowly ovate-triangular, glands pale, margin entire. Flowers 1.5-3 cm in diam., stellate; buds broadly ellipsoid to broadly cylindric. Sepals free or nearly so, imbricate, broadly ovate or broadly oblong to elliptic, unequal, (2-)3-5 × 1-2.5 mm; laminar glands pale lines and some dots; marginal glands absent or on some (rarely all) sepals black, sessile, irregular; margin entire or subentire, apex rounded to obtuse or rarely acute; veins 5. Petals deep to golden yellow, very rarely red-tinged or -veined, obovate to oblanceolate, 1.2-1.8 cm × 4-8 mm, 3.5-4 × as long as sepals; laminar glands pale, dots and short streaks; marginal glands black; margin distally short glandular-ciliate. Stamens 40-60, longest 8-10 mm, ca. 0.5 × as long as petals. Ovary narrowly ovoid-pyramidal, rostrate; styles 4-5(-5.5) mm, ca. 1.3 × as long as ovary, ascending-erect. Capsule ovoid, 0.8-1.5 cm × 4-7 mm, 2.5-3.5 × as long as sepals. Seeds dark brown, ca. 2 mm. Fl. Jun-Jul, fr. Jul-Aug.

Steppes, dry mountain slopes; [below 2200 m in C Asia]. Xinjiang (Altay Shan) [Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan; SW Asia, SE Europe].

Hypericum hyssopifolium var. elongatum (Ledebour ex Reichenbach) Ledebour; H. hyssopifolium subsp. elongatum (Ledebour ex Reichenbach) Woronow.