Welcome back to Hypericum Heaven! The first two species I addressed had 4 petals. There are only 2 other species in my area with 4 petals. Low St. John's wort-Hypericum stragulum is found in my area, but farther north into the piedmont part of Moore county. I have not encountered it yet. Pineland St. John's- Hypericum suffruticosum is found farther south and east in Bladen, Sampson and Jones counties. Hopefully I'll encounter both of these in the future.
The next 3 I would like to talk about are all quite obscure. Most people would walk by these plants without a second glance. All the blossoms are tiny. They all have 5 petals. So, that's where we start with the key. The flowers have 5 petals. The next question is:
Are the flowers pink to purple or yellow in color? All 3 of these are yellow. The next question is related to the character of herbaceousness or woodiness. All 3 of the species are herbaceous. So we skip ahead in the key to those that are herbaceous.
Our next question is about the leaf veins. Do the leaves have 1 nerve? The answer for 1 of these is yes. Hypericum gentianoides-Gentian-leaved St. John's wort has appressed and one nerved leaves.
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