Hypericum calycinum L.
rose of Sharon
Glabrous, evergreen subshrub, lacking black glands; aerial stems to 50-(80) cm tall; rhizomes stout, reddish, forming dense colonies. Shoots 4-angled, with 2 prominent raised lines. Lvs subsessile, 3-10 × 1.2-3 cm (lvs at base of aerial shoots often smaller), ± elliptic, glaucous below; base broad-cuneate to rounded; apex obtuse. Fls solitary or in cymes of 2-3; peduncles short, terminal. Sepals unequal, strongly imbricate, eglandular, entire, ± accrescent; outer sepals c. 1 cm diam., ± orbicular; inner sepals c. 1.5 cm long, oblong. Corolla 7-9 cm diam., bright yellow; petals obovate, ± patent, asymmetric, much > sepals. Stamens in 5 bundles, nearly = corolla. Styles 5, > ovary. Capsule 1-2 cm long, ovoid, dry. Seeds c. 1.5-2 mm long, broad-cylindric, reticulate, mostly abortive.
N.: scattered; S.: mainly in E. areas but also collected from Puysegur Point (Fiordland).
Bulgaria, Turkey 1904
Around cemeteries and old gardens.
FL Dec-Feb.
Rose of Sharon is a popular ground-cover sp. in parks, domains and gardens, and is now commonly planted in median highway strips and traffic islands. Its tough, densely-veined lvs tolerate extreme conditions of exposure and pollution, and its large golden fls with pink anthers are very conspicuous (Fig. 54).
