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Hypericum perforatum - L.

St. John's Wort

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Hypericaceae	Genus	Hypericum
Synonyms	Hypericum vulgare - Lam.
Known Hazards	Skin contact with the sap, or ingestion of the plant, can cause photosensitivity in some people[13, 76, 222].
Range	Europe, including Britain, south and east to N. Africa, the Azores, Madeira and W. Asia.
Habitat	Open woods, hedgebanks and grassland, in dry sunny places, usually on calcareous soils[7, 17].
Edibility Rating	2 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	4 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.9m by 0.6m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Meadow; Hedgerow;

Edible Uses

Edible Uses: Tea.

The herb and the fruit are sometimes used as a tea substitute[7, 183]. The flowers can be used in making mead[183].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Analgesic; Antiseptic; Antispasmodic; Aromatic; Astringent; Cholagogue; Digestive; Diuretic; Expectorant; Homeopathy; Nervine; Resolvent; Sedative; Stimulant; Vermifuge; Vulnerary.

St. John's wort has a long history of herbal use. It fell out of favour in the nineteenth century but recent research has brought it back to prominence as an extremely valuable remedy for nervous problems[254]. In clinical trials about 67% of patients with mild to moderate depression improved when taking this plant[254]. The flowers and leaves are analgesic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, aromatic, astringent, cholagogue, digestive, diuretic, expectorant, nervine, resolvent, sedative, stimulant, vermifuge and vulnerary[4, 9, 13, 21, 165, 218, 222]. The herb is used in treating a wide range of disorders, including pulmonary complaints, bladder problems, diarrhoea and nervous depression[4]. It is also very effectual in treating overnight incontinence of urine in children[4]. Externally, it is used in poultices to dispel herd tumours, caked breasts, bruising etc[4]. The flowering shoots are harvested in early summer and dried for later use[7]. Use the plant with caution and do not prescribe it for patients with chronic depression[238]. The plant was used to procure an abortion by some native North Americans, so it is best not used by pregnant women[257]. See also the notes above on toxicity[21, 222]. A tea or tincture of the fresh flowers is a popular treatment for external ulcers, burns, wounds (especially those with severed nerve tissue), sores, bruises, cramps etc[222, 238]. An infusion of the flowers in olive oil is applied externally to wounds, sores, ulcers, swellings, rheumatism etc[240]. It is also valued in the treatment of sunburn and as a cosmetic preparation to the skin[240]. The plant contains many biologically active compounds including rutin, pectin, choline, sitosterol, hypericin and pseudohypericin[222]. These last two compounds have been shown to have potent anti-retroviral activity without serious side effects and they are being researched in the treatment of AIDS[222, 238]. A homeopathic remedy is made from the fresh whole flowering plant[232]. It is used in the treatment of injuries, bites, stings etc and is said to be the first remedy to consider when nerve-rich areas such as the spine, eyes, fingers etc are injured[232].

Other Uses

Dye; Tannin.

Yellow, gold and brown dyes are obtained from the flowers and leaves[168]. A red is obtained from the flowers after acidification[141]. A red dye is obtained from the whole plant when infused in oil or alcohol[7, 61, 115]. A yellow is obtained when it is infused in water[7, 74, 115]. The plant is said to contain good quantities of tannin, though exact figures are not available[223].

Scented Plants

Plant: Crushed

The whole plant, especially when in bloom, gives off a most unpleasant smell when handled.

Cultivation details

Easily grown in any reasonably good well-drained but moisture retentive soil[1]. Succeeds in dry soils[238]. Plants grow well in sun or semi-shade but they flower better when in a sunny position[200]. St. John's wort is often found as a weed in the garden[1]. It grows well in the summer meadow and is a useful plant for attracting insects[24]. The whole plant, especially when in bloom, gives off a most unpleasant smell when handled[245]. Hypericum perforatum is apparently an allotetraploid that would appear to have arisen from a cross between two diploid taxa, viz. H. maculatum subsp. maculatum (Europe to western Siberia) and H. attenuatum (western Siberia to China)[266].

Propagation

Seed - sow in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in the autumn or in the spring. It normally germinates in 1 - 3 months at 10°c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer. Division in spring or autumn[111, 238]. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

Links

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[24] Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden. 0
Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[76] Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. HMSO 1984 ISBN 0112425291
Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.

[111] Sanders. T. W. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge 1926
A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.

[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 0
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.

[141] Carruthers. S. P. (Editor) Alternative Enterprises for Agriculture in the UK. Centre for Agricultural Strategy, Univ. of Reading 1986 ISBN 0704909820
Some suggested alternative commercial crops for Britain. Readable. Produced by a University study group.

[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism. 0
An excellent small herbal.

[168] Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974 ISBN 0-02-544950-8
A very good and readable book on dyeing.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[223] Rottsieper. E.H.W. Vegetable Tannins The Forestal Land, Timber and Railways Co. Ltd. 1946
A fairly detailed treatise on the major sources of vegetable tannins.

[232] Castro. M. The Complete Homeopathy Handbook. Macmillan. London. 1990 ISBN 0-333-55581-3
A concise beginner's guide to the subject. Very readable.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Hypericum perforatum

Steve Harris Fri Jul 16 23:51:31 2004

About the leaf smell: I think it's a wonderful smell - especially good on a sunny day. It's a rich warm smell. Many of the houses along our street in Cheltenham UK have it in their front gardens. I think it would be ripped out if people found it unpleasant.

Hypericum perforatum

Martin Sun Jan 7 2007

I believe that the smell of this plant is quite pleasant, an almost "buttery" smell.

Hypericum perforatum

henry fletcher Fri Jun 6 2008

I have just returned from Finland's national park in the archipelago, where I was introduced to this wonderful plant - it's pungent smell under the morning dew promised wholesome herbal goodness. I dried some sprigs in the sun and made a refreshing, dry tea. The island's are well worth a visit for anyone with a love for this site! see site below for link

outdoors.fi Finnish government run National Park

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