Species

Hypericum androsaemum

Etymology

Hypericum: From the Greek hyper (above) and eikon (picture), the plant was hung above pictures to ward off evil spirits

Common Name(s)

tutsan

Authority

Hypericum androsaemum L.

Family

Hypericaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

HYPAND

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Habitat

Terrestrial. A plant found in cool damp situations. Forest communities are invaded under light shade. A plant that grows in higher rainfall areas. Prefers full light or light shade. A plant of forest margins in North and South Island (Hilgendorf 1926). The plant grows in rocklands and steep banks. The plant is prevalent in unintensively farmed land, wasteland and road verges. The plant grows in forest margins, scrub and other secondary growth, open forest, waste places and garden surrounds. A plant of low and disturbed forest and open areas. Forest communities which have a high light intensity as well as some alluvial plant communities (Fromont and King, 1992).

Features

Glabrous evergreen or semi-evergreen shrub or subshrub to around 1.5m tall, lacking black glands. No rhizomes; shoots with 2 raised lines. Leaves sessile, 3.5~10 x 2.5~5cm, ovate or ovate-elliptic, often glaucescent below; base cordate and often amplexicaul; apex rounded and sometimes mucronulate. Cymes terminal, dense,2~8-flowered. Sepals unequal, 8~12mm long, ovate to elliptic, entire, with minute pellucid glands, enlarged at fruiting. Corolla 1.5~2.5cm diam., flat; petals = or slightly > sepals, obovate, pale yellow. Stamens in 5 bundles, some > petals. Styles 3, < ovary. Fruit around 1cm diam., globose, indehiscent and generally fleshy, red but becoming black with dark reddish purple juice. Seeds 0.9-1.0mm long, cylindric but sometimes curved, reticulate and angled on one side. (- Webb et al, 1988)

Similar Taxa

Crushed leaves with curry smell (Lazarides et al 1997) The plant is usually 60 cm - 100 cm tall (Hilgendorf 1926). The stem is 4-angled and the leaves are egg shaped (Hilgendorf 1926). The leaves are 2 - 6 cm long and its fruit is a berry. The plant grows to approximately 1.5 m in height. The berry is fleshy, red, becoming black with dark reddish purple juice. Seeds are cylindrical, sometimes curved, reticulate and from 9-10 mm long. The flowers are small and yellow and the fruit occurs in clusters. Semi-woody shrub (Fromont and King, 1992).

Flowering

November, December, January, February

Flower Colours

Yellow

Year Naturalised

1870

Origin

S & W Europe

This page last updated on 20 Jan 2013