''Triadenum fraseri'', commonly known as bog St. John's wort, Fraser's St. John's wort, and Fraser's marsh St. John's wort, is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Hypericaceae Hypericaceae is a plant family in the order Malpighiales, comprising six to nine genera and up to 700 species, and commonly known as the St. John's wort family. Members are found throughout the world apart from extremely cold or dry habitats. '' ...

that grows in wetlands of Canada and the northern United States. It is named after

John Fraser John Fraser may refer to: Politics *John Simon Frederick Fraser (1765–1803), commanded the Fraser Fencibles in Ireland and was (M.P.) for Inverness-shire *John James Fraser (1829–1896), 5th Premier of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, 18 ...

(1750–1811), a Scottish botanist and widely travelled plant collector.

Description

''Triadenum fraseri'' is a perennial

forb A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...

that can grow to heights of to . The plant has blue-green, sometimes purple-tinged, stalkless, elliptical, opposite leaves that are typically long and to wide, with prominent, often red stems and veins. The plant displays clusters of a few to several flowers arising from leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s, at the end of branching

stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

s. The pink five-

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

flowers with green or purplish

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s that range from to wide when fully open (but they are rarely open). The flower typically appears closed like a bud. Each flower features 9 to 12 yellow

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s. The plant's fruit is a three-sectioned dark-red or orange pointed capsule, to long. ''Triadenum fraseri'' is typically in flower each year from July through September.

Taxonomy

The

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

name ''Triadenum'' is derived from the Greek meaning "three glands". This name refers to the plant's three-chambered capsule fruit. The species was named in honor of 18th- and early 19th-century Scottish botanist

(1750–1811). During his career, Fraser served Russian monarchs and collected plant specimens during voyages through

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, the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, and

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. Fraser was hailed early on by his biographers as "one of the most enterprising, indefatigable, and persevering men that ever embarked in the cause of botany and natural science".J.C. Loudon,
Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum
', (53 MB file from archive.org), v. 1, 2nd ed., (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854), pp. 119–122, at 120. Retrieved October 28, 2015. Full text and other formats available a
archive.org
''Triadenum fraseri'' is closely related to ''

Triadenum virginicum ''Hypericum virginicum'' (''Triadenum virginicum''), the marsh St. Johns-wort or Virginia marsh St. Johnswort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is native to the central and eastern United States and eastern Canada. ...

''. Botanists have applied several synonyms in identifying ''Triadenum fraseri'', including: * ''Elodea fraseri'' Spach * ''Hypericum fraseri'' (Spach) Steud. * ''Hypericum virginicum'' var. ''fraseri'' (Spach) Fernald * ''Triadenum virginicum'' ssp. ''fraseri'' (Spach) J. Gillett * ''Triadenum virginicum'' var. ''fraseri'' (Spach) Cooperr.

Distribution and habitat

''Triadenum fraseri'' thrives in

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

habitats of "bogs, marshes, swales, sedgy meadows, moist sandy (even marly) shores, conifer swamps and alder thickets". The

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

describes ''Triadenum fraseri'' as a

native species In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equ ...

within the states of

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Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

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(rare),

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(rare),

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(rare),

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

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(rare),

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(rare),

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, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, in the United States; and in the

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(rare), in Canada; and in the

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. It is categorized as an " obligate wetland" plant by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

for the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, Great Plains, Midwest, Northcentral and Northeast; and Western Mountains, Valleys, and Coast regions.U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.2
Retrieved October 28, 2015.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18016364 fraseri Flora of North America