All flowers
Marsh St. John's Wort Wikimedia Commons
Hypericaceae

Marsh St. John's Wort

Hypericum elodes

Light in dark places.

Family
Hypericaceae
Genus
Hypericum
Native to
Western Europe, Atlantic Europe
Bloom season
Summer
Type
herbaceous
Height
4-12 in
Sunlight
full sun to partial shade
Soil
wet, acidic, peaty
Water
high
Hardiness
6-9
Lifespan
perennial

Did you know

  • Unlike most St. John's wort species that prefer dry habitats, this one thrives with its roots submerged in shallow water.
  • The woolly, soft-haired stems and leaves give the plant a distinctive grayish-green appearance unlike any other Hypericum.
  • It spreads through creeping stems that root at the nodes, forming floating mats at the edges of ponds and bogs.
  • The small yellow flowers have red-tipped glands along the petal edges that contain hypericin, the same compound found in medicinal St. John's wort.
  • It is increasingly rare across Europe due to wetland drainage and is listed as a protected species in several countries.

Color meanings

0

protection

1

light

2

healing

Uses

  • pond margins
  • bog garden
  • wetland restoration
  • botanical study