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Photographer: Robert Bierman
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Family Hypericaceae
Hypericum kalmianum L.
Kalm's St. John's-wort
Hypericum: ancient Greek name derived from hyper, "above," and eikon, "picture," from old practice of placing flowers above an image in the house to ward off evil spirits at the midsummer festival of Walpurgisnacht, which later became feast of St. John
kalmianum: for Pehr Kalm (1715-1779), its discoverer
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| Status: | Native |
| Plant: | erect, perennial, 6"-40" tall shrub, with many branches |
| Flower: | yellow, 5-parted, 3/4"-1 1/4" wide; inflorescence of 3-7 stalked flowers in a branched cluster (cyme) at the ends of the branches; blooms July-Aug. |
| Fruit: | capsule, thin oval  |
| Leaf: | often curling backward  |
| Habitat: | moist; dunes, shores; in rocky, sandy soil |
| (Glossary) |
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