St. Johns Wort

Q. I have St. Johns Wort plants. I would like to know how to take care of them and what I can use these in or for.

A. It is an herbaceous perennial growing freely wild to a height of 1 to 3 feet in uncultivated ground woods hedges roadsides and meadows; short decumbent barren shoots and erect stems branching in upper part glabrous; leaves pale green sessile oblong with pellucid dots or oil glands which may be seen on holding leaf to light. Flowers bright cheery yellow in terminal corymb. Calyx and corolla marked with black dots and lines; sepals and petals five in number; ovary pear-shaped with three long styles. Stamens in three bundles joined by their bases only. Blooms June to August followed by numerous small round blackish seeds which have a resinous smell and are contained in a three-celled capsule; odor peculiar terebenthic; taste bitter astringent and balsamic.

St. John's Wort makes a wonderful landscaping plant and is great for those hard to cover areas. The plants are available at your local nursery. Seeds can be obtained from a variety of mail order seed suppliers. Research is on going to develop strain that increases the yield of Hypericin.

For medicinal use Saint John's Wort is available in most health food stores in capsule or liquid extract form. It should not be taken without a health care professional's advice.