Square-stalked St John's-wort - Hypericum tetrapterum

Description

Short to tall erect hairless plant. Stems square, with four narrow wings, spreading and rooting at the base. Leaves opposite, rounded to oval with translucent dots. Flowers pale yellow, 9 to 10 mm, many in a spreading panicle.

Similar Species

Other St.John's-worts. See ID Aids below.

Identification difficulty
ID guidance

Petals pale yellow; small flowered; stems with 4 broad wings

Identification aids

The St John's Wort (Hypericum) family are attractive, yellow-flowered perennials. They can look confusingly similar but can be distinguished by careful examination of key features. A hand-lens may be required (depending how good your eyesight is!). The leaf perforations are visible as translucent dots if the leaf is held up to the light.

Hypericum guide

 

Recording advice

A photo of the plant in its habitat

Habitat

Damp places, marshes, pond and river margins.

When to see it

June to September.

Life History

Perennial.

UK Status

Fairly common throughout Britain.

VC55 Status

Fairly common in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 310 of the 617 tetrads.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Square-Stalked St. John's-Wort, Square St. John's Wort, Square-stalked St John's-wort
Species group:
Wildflowers
Kingdom:
Plantae
Order:
Malpighiales
Family:
Hypericaceae
Records on NatureSpot:
70
First record:
23/04/2007 (Dave Wood)
Last record:
04/08/2023 (Dunham, David)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

The latest images and records displayed below include those awaiting verification checks so we cannot guarantee that every identification is correct. Once accepted, the record displays a green tick.

In the Latest Records section, click on the header to sort A-Z, and again to sort Z-A. Use the header boxes to filter the list.

Latest images

Latest records