Edge/ Common St Johnswort

COMMON NAME: Common St. Johnswort

OTHER COMMON NAME(S):

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Hypericum perforatum

FAMILY: Clusiaceae

COMMUNITY: Edge

STATUS: Naturalized from Europe

LIFESPAN: Perennial

HEIGHT: 14 to 32 inches

FLOWERING TIME: Late June to September

FRUITING TIME: July to October

DISTRIBUTION: Throughout the United States and southern Canada ~ Statewide outside the Pine Barrens in New Jersey

IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS: Numerous very leafy branches ~ Leaves linear, attached without a stalk ~ Flowers numerous, rounded or flattened, orange-yellow

GENERAL INFORMATION: The Clusiaceae family commonly called the Mangosteen or St. Johnswort Family consists of 47 genera and 1,350 species of herbs, shrubs, lianas and trees.  The North American genera belong to the subfamily Hypericoideae.  Mangosteen is the fruit of the tropical Garcinia mangostana.  Another family member is Manny-Apple, Mammea americana.  Members of the family also provide timber, pharmaceuticals, dyes, gums, pigments, resins and oilseeds. The genus Hypericum is from the Greek hupereikon.  In olden times, St. Johnswort was hung over religious images or pictures to ward off evil at the midsummer festival when St Johnswort was in flower. St. John’s Wort, one of the herbs of Saint John the Baptist, whom Christ called “a burning and shining light” (John 5:35), was collected and burnt on the day of Saint John, June 24, to protect the farm and its animals and men against goblins, devils and witches. The plant was also called “Fuga demonum”, demon chaser.  In 1863 Dr. Francis Porcher wrote that St. Johnswort “was greatly in vogue at one time, and was thought to cure demoniacs”. The flowers of St. Johnswort can yield a yellow dye.

Please note: While harvesting wild berries/fruit is permitted at Island Beach State Park, visitors must adhere to park regulations at all times and must not damage vegetation or go off designated trails.  This information is presented for educational purposes.