Ontario Weeds: St. john's wort
Table of Contents
- Name
- Other Names
- Family
- General Description
- Stems and Roots
- Flowers and Fruit
- Habitat
- Caution
- For more information...
Name: St. John's-wort, Hypericum
perforatum L.,
Other Names: Goatweed, Klamathweed, millepertuis
perforé, millepertuis commun, herbe Saint-Jean
Family: St. John's-Wort Family (Hypericaceae)
General Description: Perennial, reproducing
by seed and by spreading underground roots or rhizomes. It is distinguished
by its almost woody base, opposite leaves, bright yellow flowers,
and leaves with transparent dots.
A. Plant. B. Pairs of leaves showing transparent
dots.
St. John's wort. A.
Top of flowering stem. B. Single leaf showing scattered, transparent
dots.
St. John's wort. C. Basal crown and root.
- upright flowering stems 40-80cm (16-32in.) high, tough or woody near the base, branching and smooth except for shallow ridges below the base of each leaf;
- horizontal basal branches, these produced in late fall or early spring, short, densely leafy, and radiating out from the basal crown of each plant; leaves opposite (2 per node), stalkless, elliptic or linear, smooth-margined and, when viewed against the light, appear to have many small perforations or transparent dots.
Habitat: St. John's-wort occurs throughout Ontario in pastures, edges of woodlots, roadsides, abandoned fields, waste areas and occasionally in lawns and flower borders.
Caution: If eaten by livestock, St. John's-wort may cause photosensitization, a condition in which patches of white or light-coloured skin become seriously sunburned under normal exposure to sunlight. Avoid pasturing animals where this weed is abundant or keep them under shade during normal sunny days.
For more information...
... on weed identification, order OMAFRA
Publication 505: Ontario Weeds
... on weed control, order OMAFRA
Publication 75: Guide To Weed Control
...on weeds in field crops, contact Mike Cowbrough (mike.cowbrough@ontario.ca),
Weed Management Specialist (Field Crops), OMAFRA
...on weeds in horticultural crops, contact Kristen Callow (kristen.callow@ontario.ca),
Weed Management Specialist (Hort Crops), OMAFRA
For more information:
Toll Free: 1-877-424-1300
E-mail: ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca