Hypericum japonicum - Matted Hypericum

Matted Hypericum is a terrestrial, annual, tufted herb, up to 40 cm tall. Roots are fibrous, white or brown. Stem is erect or rising, quadrangular, solid, hairless. Stipules are absent. Leaves are simple, not lobed or divided, opposite, stalkless, ovate, less than 2 cm long/wide, hairless on both sides, dots present, margin entire, tip blunt, base heart-shaped, parallel-veined. Flowers are bisexual, grouped in a terminal one to few-flowered cyme, stalked. Flowers 4-8 mm across, stellate. Buds are cylindric-ellipsoid, tip obtuse. Sepals are free, erect, narrowly oblong or rarely lanceolate to elliptic, subequal to unequal, 2-5.5 × 0.5-2 mm; laminar glands lines, distally dots; marginal glands absent; apex acute or obtuse to rounded; veins 3-5. Petals pale to bright yellow or orange, obovate to oblong or elliptic, 1.7-5 × 0.8-1.8 mm, 0.4-0.8 × as long as sepals; laminar glands absent; margin entire, eglandular. Stamens 5-30, irregular or in 5 obscure groups when few, longest 1.5-2.8 mm, 0.4-0.8 × as long as petals. Fruit is a capsule, opening with 3 valves. Matted Hypericum is found in Indian continent, S.E.China, Korea, Japan, S.E.Asia and Malesia, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii. Flowering: November-February.