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Varieties of Saint John's Wort

23:13 / 12.09.06

At the start of the summer, I bought a pack of "Native Plants of Scotland" seeds of Saint John's Wort, and planted them in my garden. They grew easily, and have been giving me a good crop ever since.

The only problem is that it appears to be a different variety from the standard medicinal variety, Hypericum perforatum. It creeps across the ground like hollyhocks, and has tiny white flowers instead of the usual yellow. It still has the perforated leaf effect, though possibly on a smaller scale.

So I'm asking you learned and witchy herbalists and hedge-witches for some information. Can anybody tell me whether the variety I am growing is medicinally active, and/or what variety I possess?

07:43 / 13.09.06

From your description I would guess that it might not be active; however there is an easy way to test.

With the common St Johns wort; Hypericum Perforatum; it is possible to make St Johns wort oil by steeping the flowers traditionally gathered on midsummer in olive oil and leaving the mix exposed to bright sunlight for several months. Over time the active ingredients in the flowers turns the oil a bright red. Medically this oil is good for burns; although it is supposed to make things somewhat photo sensitive. Magically it is used for purifcation and consecration and protection against nasties. From experience I have also found that a tiny amount rubbed on my forehead increases psychic sensitivity when on paranormal investigations.

As the flowers on your plants are white I would guess that the same active ingredient which does this (hypericin) which is yellow might not be present in your flowers; at least in such quantities as in Hypericum Perforatum. You might try steeping some flowers in oil however to see what happens.

Can you be absolutely sure that the flowers are Hypericum?

21:20 / 13.09.06

Thanks for that. Yeah, I'm pretty sure they're hypericum because of the structure of the flowers and the perforated leaf effect, but beyond that... Will try the oil trick and see what happens. It is a bit disappointing though, if what could have been a valuable resource turns out to be nothing but a pernicious weed.

22:39 / 27.09.06

Thanks. Tried this by cooking out some in a bain marie. No colour whatsoever. Oh well...

23:58 / 27.09.06

Sorry I hadn't seen this earlier.

Hypericum hypericoides is known as "St. Andrew's Cross" because of its white flowers.

There are many other Hypericum species, some of which are also called "St. John's Wort" -- including "Pale St. John's Wort" (H. montanum), "Coppery St. John's Wort" (H. denticulatum), "Pineland St. John's Wort" (Hypericum suffruticosum) and "Roundpod St. John's Wort" (H. cistifolium).

There's even a variety that grows wild in Florida... called "Lesser Canadian St. John's Wort" (H. canadense).

Notice also, on that first listy page, that St. Peter's Wort is confusingly called Hypericum crux-andreae, although it's only a relative of the actual St. Andrew's Cross.