Biology:Hypericum monanthemum

Short description: Species of flowering plant in the St John's wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum monanthemum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Hypericaceae
Genus:	Hypericum
Section:	Hypericum sect. Monanthema
Species:	H. monanthemum
Binomial name
Hypericum monanthemum Hook.f. & Thomson ex Dyer
Subspecies
H. monanthemum subsp. filicaule H. monanthemum subsp. monanthemum (Dyer) N.Robson

Hypericum monanthemum is a species of flowering plant of the St. John's wort family (Hypericaceae) which is native to the Himalayan mountains.

Description

Hypericum monanthemum is a perennial herb that varies in height from 0.1 to 0.4 meters (0.33 to 1.3 feet) tall. It can be found growing entirely upright, along the ground and upright towards the ends of the stems, or entirely along the ground. The base at the center of the stems is rooting and branching, and the stems are scattered across it, clustered in groups, or carpeting the whole base. It is often a very slender plant, and is usually unbranched in its upper parts, though it can rarely have a single pair of branches just below the inflorescence which are pointed upwards.

Taxonomy

The species' placement within Hypericum can be summarized as follows:

Hypericum

Hypericum subg. Hypericum

Hypericum sect. Monanthema

Hypericum daliense

Hypericum himalaicum

Hypericum ludlowii

Hypericum subcordatum

Hypericum trigonum

Hypericum wightianum

Hypericum monanthemum

Uses

Despite being considered rare, Hypericum montanum has been recorded as being used in folk medicine in parts of India near the Himalayas, where it is referred to as Tenikmolitong. The whole plant is washed and crushed, and the resulting liquid is strained through fine cloth. The final product is then used as a kind of eye drop to treat irritated or diseased eyes.

References

Wikidata ☰ Q10906400 entry