Hypericum is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Clusiaceae, formerly often treated separately in their own family the Hypericaceae.
Various Hypericum species are exclusively used as food plants by the larva of the Treble-bar, a species of moth.
Hypericum perforatum is used in herbalism as an antidepressant.
It should be noted that though there are other species of Hypericum they are not mentioned in the Commission E monographs and very little medical research has been conducted on them to date.
Today, Hypericum Perforatum is a very common antidepressant sold in Germany, and there is speculation that it is prescribed four times more often than fluoxetine hydrochloride.
The data collected and reviewed from these studies showed Hypericum extracts to be "significantly superior to a placebo" and "similarly effective as standard antidepressants".
www.rxlist.com /cgi/alt/stjohn.htm (1763 words)
Hypericum calycinum, Oregon State Univ., LANDSCAPE PLANTS(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-03)
In the Northwest it may suffer from Hypericum Rust.
This is not the Hypericum species considered by some to have therapeutic properties, that is the herb, St. John's Wort, Hypericum perforatum.
Hypericum: Greek, hyper, above, and eikon, a picture, it was hung above pictures to ward off evil spirits.
Most of the Hypericum species go by the common name "St. John's Wort" named for John the Baptist, but the name "Aaron's Beard" is commonly used of H.
calycinum & takes its inspiration from Psalm 133:2 regarding "the precious ointment upon the head, running down upon the beard, running down upon the beard of Aaron, running down upon the hem of his garment," which some have read to indicate that Aaron's beard grew to the hem of his priestly robe.
The assumption is that an oil extracted from Hypericum was used in a mixture with other aromatic oils in the manufacture of the ointment of sacred consecration.
I was considering growing Hypericumcalycinum (Aaron's Beard) under/in front of my azaleas after reading about them in a book on gardening in the Mid-Atlantic.
We plantedHypericumcalycinum in our small our front yard 26 years ago under a then very small Amelanchier canadensis with a few azaleas and native rhodos & added some daffodil bulbs.
However, I would be very careful with the Hypericum since it does spread, enough that for awhile I considered trying to pull it all out.
It's related to Rose of Sharon (Hypericumcalycinum), a cultivated ornamental plant.
The genus name Hypericum is derived from two Greek words - hyper and eikon, meaning "over" and "apparition." Early Christians and pre-Christians saw power in the bright, sun yellow flowers and stamens - the power, as they saw it, to ward off encroaching darkness and evil apparitions.
Herbalist, author and educator Rosemary Gladstar notes that in pre-Christian religious practices in England, St. John's wort was used in many of the ceremonies and rituals.
New light on UV - In Sum - effects of ultraviolet radiation on Hypericum calycinum - Brief Article Natural History - ...(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-03)
What's surprising about H. calycinum, according to Matthew Gronquist and colleagues at Cornell University, is that as well as having a combination of UV pigments where we (or insects) might expect to find them, it also has them--in extraordinarily high concentrations--in unexpected places, namely the anthers and ovarian wall.
Moreover, the pigments that are most concentrated at these unlikely locations are in the category known as DIPs (dearomatized isoprenylated phloroglucinols), which were not previously shown to function in floral UV patterning.
So, say the researchers, chances are that UV pigments perform dual functions in H. calycinum: giving the come-hither to would-be pollinators while also warning off would-be predators.
Hypericumcalycinum is a rhizomatous shrubby ground cover that typically grows to 12" tall (less frequently to 18") and spreads to 24" or more.
Plants of the genus Hypericum (some species have been used since ancient times in the treatment of wounds and inflammations) were apparently gathered and burned to ward off evil spirits on the eve of St. John's Day, thus giving rise to the genus common name of St. John's wort.
Johnswort (Hypericumcalycinum, or Aaron's Beard) is a wonderful choice for hot, dry locations with poor soil.
The low growing Hypericumcalycinum is commonly grown as a ground cover and will grow 18 inches tall, and spread 15-24 inches.
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BBC - Gardening - Plants - Plant Finder - Hypericumcalycinum
One of the best hypericums for ground cover, even on dry shaded banks, Rose of Sharon is a Bulgarian species which is easily naturalised in difficult sites and may eventually need control by chopping around plants with a spade to halt the creeping stems.
It is a valuable and robust shrub with all-year interest and a long season of bloom, the large bright yellow star-shaped flowers with prominent red-tipped anthers making a sunny display for 4 months.
In fact, the genus name Hypericum is from Greek and means "over an apparition" as the herb was once considered odiferous enough to cause evil spirits to depart.
Aristoforin, a novel stable derivative of hyperforin, is a potent anticancer agent.
Biosynthesis of the hyperforin skeleton in Hypericumcalycinum cell cultures.
The genus name Hypericum means "above a picture", referring to the fact that in some ancient cultures, it was hung above pictures to ward off evil spirits.
The name calycinum comes from the Latin for 'with a conspicuous calyx'.
Cut the tops every other year to avoid for it to look bedraggled in late summer.
