Hypericum monogynum L.

Flowering from May to August; fruiting from August to September.

Hypericum monogynum is close relative of Hypericum prattii, but differs from the latter in its leaves with base cuneate to rounded, or if cordate then apex rounded (vs, base cordate-amplexicaul, apex acute to acuminate), leaf blade usually broadest at or above middle (vs. elliptic-ovate to broadly ovate).

Hypericum monogynum is occurring in Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnanm Zhejiang of Chian, Japan, widely cultivated in S Africa, E and S Asia, Australia, Central America, N and W Europe, Mauritius, and the West Indies.

Shrubs, 0.5-1.3 m tall, bushy or usually with branches lax, spreading. Stems 2-4-lined and ancipitous when young, soon terete; internodes 1-5 cm, shorter than leaves. Leaves with petiole 1.5-2 mm; blade oblong to elliptic, 2.5-5 cm long, 1.2-2.3 cm wide, thickly papery, abaxially paler but not glaucous; laminar glands very small dots; abaxial glands absent; main lateral veins 2-3-paired, all or upper sometimes uniting with midvein branches to form ± arched intramarginal vein, tertiary reticulation very dense, not very conspicuous; base cuneate to subangustate, apex acute to rounded. Inflorescence 3-20-flowered, from apical node, lax, shallowly round-topped, sometimes also from uppermost 1-3 nodes, rarely with 1 or 2 pairs of flowering branches; bracts caducous, linear-lanceolate, small. Pedicels 0.8-2.8 cm. Flowers 3-6.5 cm in diameter, stellate; buds ovoid, apex subacute to obtuse. Sepals broadly to narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate, equal to unequal, 4.5-13 mm long, 1.5-6 mm wide; laminar glands basally lines to streaks, dots toward apex, margin entire, apex acute to rounded. Petals golden yellow to lemon yellow, triangular-obovate, 2-3.4 cm long, 1-2 cm wide, 2.5-4.5 times as long as sepals; margin entire, eglandular; apiculus lateral, acute to rounded or obsolete. Stamen fascicles each with 25-35 stamens, longest 1.8-3.2 cm, ca. as long as petals. Ovary ovoid or ovoid-conic to subglobose, 2.5-5 mm long, 2.5-3 mm wide; styles 1.2-2 cm, 3.5-5 times as long as ovary, united nearly to apices then outcurved or very rarely to half free. Capsule broadly ovoid or rarely ovoid-conic to subglobose, 6-10 mm long, 4-7 mm wide. Seeds dark reddish brown, ca. 2 mm, narrowly carinate; testa linear-reticulate.

Growing in mountain slopes, roadsides, thickets in dry habitats; 200-1500 m.