Hypericum phellos

Hypericum phellos
Hypericum phellos subsp. phellos, collected in Venezuela in 1979
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Hypericaceae
Genus:	Hypericum
Section:	H. sect. Brathys
Species:	H. phellos
Binomial name
Hypericum phellos Gleason , 1929

Hypericum phellos is a species of shrub or small tree in Hypericum sect. Brathys. The species is found in Colombia and Venezuela on scrubby slopes and moist woods.^[1]

Description

Hypericum phellos grows 0.3–4 m (1 ft 0 in – 13 ft 1 in) tall, with strict and nearly always lateral branches. The yellowish brown, four-lined stems are

H. phellos is easily distinguished from close relatives by its corky ridges on its internodes and by its deciduous leaves. When leaves are persistent, they are either marcescent with an acute apex (var. marcescens), or broad and appressed, lacking corky emergences (subsp. platyphyllum). The other subspecies, oroqueanum, has appressed leaves that are not persistent.[2]

Habitat and distribution

Hypericum phellos grows on scrubby slopes and in moist woodlands. It prefers altitudes between 2,600–4,200 m (8,500–13,800 ft).^[2]

The shrub occurs in