SAINT JOHN'S WORT

ST. JOHN'S WORT...

...FLOWERS

Monday, 7:30 AM.  71 degrees F at the ferry dock, 67 on the back porch.  Wind SW, calm to very light  with light gusts.  The sky is clear with some haze, and there is some fog over the water.  The humidity is 86% and the barometer is steady at present, at 29.95".

    St. John's wort is blooming now along the roadsides and in the fields.  There are too many relatively similar species in the genus Hypericum in the St. John's Wort (Guttiferae) Family for me to key them out, but suffice it to say that this is a colorful group of herbaceous plants that can be found almost everywhere in the summer. Common St. John's wort (wort is simply an Old English word for plant), Hypericum perforatum, has long been used in herbal medicine as a calmative, or sedative, to treat mild to moderate depression, and is still so used today.   H. perforatum is of European origin and is a common non-native invasive plant in North America and elsewhere. It is readily available in stores as an herbal product.  I have no personal experience regarding its use, but it reportedly should not be used without medical supervision, as it may interfere with a wide range of prescription medications.  The common name relates to its traditional harvesting on St. John's Day, June 24.  
   The genus also had diverse uses in Native American traditional medicine.