Hypericum punctatum

From Coastal Plain Plants Wiki
Revision as of 13:07, 2 June 2023 by Dduncan (talk | contribs)
Jump to: navigation, search

spotted St. John's-wort[1]

Hypericum punctatum
Hypericum punctatum SEF.jpg
Photo by the Southeastern Flora Plant Database
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida - Dicots
Order: Theales
Family: Clusiaceae
Genus: Hypericum
Species: H. punctatum
Binomial name
Hypericum punctatum
Lam.
HYPE PUNT DIST.JPG
Natural range of Hypericum punctatum from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Taxonomic Notes

Synonyms: Hypericum punctatum var. punctatum[2]

Varieties: Hypericum punctatum Lamarck; Hypericum subpetiolatum E.P. Bicknell ex Small[2]

Description

H. punctatum is a perennial forb/herb of the Clusiaceae family native to North America.[1]

Distribution

H. punctatum is found throughout the eastern United States and up into Eastern Canada, specifically Ontario and Quebec.[1]

Ecology

Habitat

H. punctatum has a low drought tolerance and high shade tolerance.[1] It is commonly found in fields and woodland borders.[2] This species also has a low tolerance for calcium carbonate.[3] Specimens of H. punctatum have been collected from upland pinelands that are annually burned, and other similar sandhill habitats that are well-drained.[4] It has also been recorded in outcrop oak-hickory forests.[5]

Phenology

Flowers bloom between June and September.[1][6]

Seed dispersal

This species is thought to be dispersed by gravity.[7]

Fire ecology

H. punctatum is not a fire-resistant forb, but rather mildly tolerant.[1] A study in the Great Dismal Swamp in southeastern Virginia found this species present in areas that were commonly cut-burned.[8] Another study in dry sandstone barrens found this plant to increase by 75% in size, and increase 250% in occurrences after a fire disturbance.[9]

Pollination

This species is considered by pollination ecologists to be of special value to bumble bees since the flowers attract such large numbers.[3] More specifically, this species has been observed to host bees such as Bombus bimaculatus (family Apidae) and sweat bees such as Lasioglossum hitchensi (family Halictidae).[10]

Herbivory and toxicology

It has been recorded to be eaten by white-tailed deer.[11]

Conservation, cultivation, and restoration

It is considered vulnerable in the Canadian province Quebec, critically imperiled in Nebraska, and an exotic species in the Canadian province Newfoundland.[12]

Cultural use

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 USDA Plant Database
  2. Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 2.2 Weakley, A.S. 2020. Flora of the Southeastern United States. Edition of 20 October 2020. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
  3. Jump up to: 3.0 3.1 [[1]] Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Accessed: May 28, 2019
  4. Jump up Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: May 2019. Collectors: Wilson Baker, Robert K. Godfrey, Jeffrey M. Kane, Roy Komarek, and R. A. Norris. States and Counties: Florida: Leon. Georgia: Thomas.
  5. Jump up Bostick, P. E. (1971). "Vascular Plants of Panola Mountian, Georgia " Castanea 46(3): 194-209.
  6. Jump up Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Weakley
  7. Jump up Kirkman, L. Katherine. Unpublished database of seed dispersal mode of plants found in Coastal Plain longleaf pine-grasslands of the Jones Ecological Research Center, Georgia.
  8. Jump up McKinley, C. E. and F. P. Day (1979). "Herbaceous production in cut-burned, uncut-burned and control areas of Chamaecyparis thyoides (L.) BSP (Cupressaceae) stand in the Great Dismal Swamp." Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 106: 20-28.
  9. Jump up Taft, J. B. (2003). "Fire effects on community structure, composition, and diversity in a dry sandstone barrens." Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 130: 170-192.
  10. Jump up Discoverlife.org [2]
  11. Jump up Atwood, E. L. (1941). "White-tailed deer foods of the United States." The Journal of Wildlife Management 5(3): 314-332.
  12. Jump up [[3]] NatureServe Explorer. Accessed: May 28, 2019