滇南金丝桃 dian nan jin si tao

Herbs, perennial, erect from short rooting base, ca. 30 cm tall; stems several, not branched below inflorescence. Stems terete, eglandular. Leaves sessile, 3-whorled; blade oblong-lanceolate, 1.5-3 × 0.5-1 cm, ?thickly papery; laminar glands pale, dense; intramarginal glands black, sparse; main lateral veins 2- or 3-paired; base subcordate-amplexicaul, asymmetric, the upper with densely glandular-ciliate auricles, margin entire, apex obtuse. Inflorescence 16-flowered, from terminal node, corymbiform-subglobose, with flowering branches from one node below; bracts and bracteoles oblong-lanceolate, with margin and auricles black-glandular-ciliate. Pedicel ca. 5 mm. Flowers ca. 1 cm in diam. Sepals erect, ?subequal, ovate, 3.5-5 × 1-2 mm, glandular-ciliate; laminar glands ?pale; marginal glands black, on cilia and a few sessile or submarginal; apex acute; veins 5. Petals oblong, 4-5 × 1-2 mm; laminar glands pale; marginal glands black, distal, sessile; margin entire. Stamens 10-13, apparently 3-fascicled, longest 3-4 mm, 0.75-0.8 × as long as petals. Ovary 3-loculed, ovoid, ca. 2 × 1.5 mm; styles 3, outcurving, ca. 1.7 mm, ca. 0.8 × as long as ovary. Capsule ovoid, ca. 4 × 3 mm, ca. as long as sepals; valves laxly longitudinally vittate. Seeds blackish brown, ca. 0.5 mm; testa linear-pitted. Fl. & fr. Aug.

● Roadsides and dry waste places; 1600-1700 m. W Yunnan.

In most respects Hypericum austroyunnanicum falls within the range of variation of H. elodeoides; but, discounting the ternate leaves (a character that is rarely species-specific in the genus), the small flowers with ovate sepals and short styles would seem to distinguish it from that species.