St. Johns Wort | Guan Ye Lian Qiao

St. John’s wort is a perennial herb with extensive creeping rhizomes. Its stems are erect and branched in the upper section. It has opposing stalkless, narrow oblong leaves with transparent dots throughout the tissue and occasionally a few black dots on the lower surface. When held to the light the translucent dots appear transparent. Yellow flowers appear in broad cymes at the ends of upper branches, between late spring and mid summer. The sepals are pointed with glandular dots in tissue and many stamens that unite at base into three bundles. When flower buds (not the flower themselves) or seeds are crushed a reddish/purple liquid is produced. Reproduces both vegetivalely and sexually. The whole plant gives off an incense-like aroma.

Indigenous to Europe, introduced to many temperate areas of the world, grows wild in meadows. Thrives in areas with either a winter or summer dominant rainfall pattern and distribution restricted by temperatures that drop too low for seeds to germinate. Seeds can persist for decades in the soil seed bank. In some areas even considered a noxious weed. Likes gravelly soils.