''Hypericum maculatum'', commonly known as imperforate St John's-wort, or spotted St. Johnswort, is a species of

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

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. ...

. It is native to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Western Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

where it grows in moist meadows.

Description

''Hypericum maculatum'' is a hairless perennial herbaceous plant growing to about 60 cm. The stem is square in cross section, but without the wings shown in ''H. tetrapterum''. The leaves are simple, entire (undivided) and in opposite pairs, without

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole (botany), petiole). They are primarily found among dicots and rare among monocots. Stipules are considered part ...

s and have few or no translucent glands. There may be black dots on the leaves, petals and sepals. The flowers are yellow, up to about 25mm across. The species hybridises with ''Hypericum perforatum'' to produce Des Etang's St John's wort, ''Hypericum x desetangsii''.

Uses

It is considered to be a medicinal plant.Băcilă, I., et al. (2010)
Micropropagation of ''Hypericum maculatum'' Cranz an important medicinal plant.
''Rom Biotechnol Lett'' 15 86-91. ''Hypericum maculatum'' herb has been used in the traditional Austrian medicine internally as tea or oil extract, and externally as oil extract, ointment or cold maceration in ethanol for treatment of disorders of the skin, locomotor system, nervous system, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, kidneys and urinary tract, cardiovascular system, infections, rheumatism and gout.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q162486 maculatum Flora of Europe Flora of Western Asia