Small St John's Wort
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
Display IBRA region text
Mount Gambier (SVP02) | Southern Volcanic Plain | Near Threatened |
Bridgewater (NCP01) | Naracoorte Coastal Plain | Rare (IUCN: RA d(ii)) (Probable Decline) [edge of range; Vic spp.] |
Glenelg Plain (NCP02) | | Least Concern |
Lucindale (NCP03) | | Near Threatened |
Kangaroo Island (KAN01) | Kanmantoo | Rare (IUCN: RA d(ii)) [need more surveys] |
Fleurieu (KAN02) | | Least Concern [possibly two varieties] |
Mount Lofty Ranges (FLB01) | Flinders Lofty Block | Least Concern [possibly two varieties] |
Broughton (FLB02) | | Rare (IUCN: RA d(i,ii)) (Probable Decline) [Records missing] |
Southern Flinders (FLB04) | | Rare (IUCN: RA d(i,ii)) (Probable Decline) [Records missing] |
Northern Flinders (FLB05) | | Rare (IUCN: RA d(ii)) [could be split into 2 spp] |
Central Flinders (FLB06) | | Rare (IUCN: RA d(ii)) [could be split into 2 spp] |
Eyre Hills (EYB03) | Eyre Yorke Block | Rare (IUCN: RA d(i,ii)) (Probable Decline) |
Murray Mallee (MDD02) | Murray Darling Depression | Vulnerable (IUCN: VU B2ab(i,ii,iii)) (Probable Decline) [ephemeral; dependent on floods] |
Lowan Mallee (MDD04) | | Rare (IUCN: RA d(i,ii)) [ephemeral; dependent on floods] |
Wimmera (MDD05) | | Rare (IUCN: RA d(i,ii)) |
Braemer (MDD07) | | Rare (IUCN: RA d(i,ii)) |
Breakaways (STP01) | Stony Plains | Rare (IUCN: RA d(ii)) [could be split into 2 spp] |
Oodnadatta (STP02) | | Rare (IUCN: RA d(ii)) [could be split into 2 spp] |
Lake Pure (CHC07) | Channel Country | Rare (IUCN: RA d(ii)) [could be split into 2 spp] |
Watarru (CER02) | Central Ranges | Rare (IUCN: RA d(ii)) [could be split into 2 spp] |
Everard Block (CER03) | | Rare (IUCN: RA d(ii)) [could be split into 2 spp] |
Mount Gambier (SVP02) | Southern Volcanic Plain | Near Threatened |
3 of 4 subregions | Naracoorte Coastal Plain | Least Concern , Near Threatened , Rare |
2 of 2 subregions | Kanmantoo | Least Concern , Rare |
5 of 6 subregions | Flinders Lofty Block | Least Concern , Rare |
Eyre Hills (EYB03) | Eyre Yorke Block | Rare (IUCN: RA d(i,ii)) (Probable Decline) |
4 of 6 subregions | Murray Darling Depression | Rare , Vulnerable |
2 of 7 subregions | Stony Plains | Rare |
Lake Pure (CHC07) | Channel Country | Rare (IUCN: RA d(ii)) [could be split into 2 spp] |
2 of 3 subregions | Central Ranges | Rare |
Botanical art
Kath Alcock paintings: 3
Common names
Small St John's Wort
Etymology
Hypericum, from the Greek 'hyper', meaning above and 'icon' meaning image, referring to plants from the genus being hung above religious figures to ward off evil spirits. Gramineum, from the Latin 'gramen', meaning grass, referring to the grass-like stems.
Distribution and status
Found mainly in the southern part of South Australia, with scattered records across the northern part; growing in sandy soils along rivers, creeks and flood-plain. Also found in all States. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Erect perennial herb to 40 cm high; often rhizomatous and shortly creeping at base; stems with 4-ridges; internodes usually longer than leaves. Leaves ovate to narrowly elliptic or oblong, to 20 mm long and 7 mm wide, often glaucous; at least the upper most, erect and stem-clasping; margins usually recurved. Flowers in leafy clusters with orange-yellow, not black-dotted petals. Flowering between October to March. Fruits are brown ovoid capsule to 8 mm long. Seeds are brown oblong seed to 0.6 mm long and 0.3 mm wide, surface tuberculous.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between June and January. Collect maturing capsules, those turning pale-brown with brown seeds inside. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for a week. Then rub the dried capsules gently by hand to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Be careful as the seeds are very small. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. From three collections, the seed viability was high, ranging from 80% to 100%.
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature | BGA MSB | 4,000 (0.26 g) 4,000 (0.26 g) | 40 | 31-Jan-2006 | HPV2962 South Eastern | 1-Aug-2006 | 100% | -18°C |
BGA | 119,800 (2.78 g) | 20 | 3-Jan-2007 | RJB70979D Murray | 1-Aug-2007 | 85% | -18°C |
BGA | 13,000 (0.55 g) | 50 | 13-Dec-2007 | RJB76275 Flinders Ranges | 19-Sep-2008 | 80% | -18°C |
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.