[The St. John's-wort Family East of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington]

Norton's St. Johnswort, Norton's St. John's-wort

Hypericum scouleri ssp. nortoniae

Synonyms: Hypericum formosum ssp. nortoniae, Hypericum formosum ssp. scouleri var. nortoniae, Hypericum formosum var. nortoniae, Hypericum nortoniae, Hypericum scouleri ssp. nortoniae

The photo above shows a close-up of the flower of Norton's st. john's wort as seen at a small seep along the Island Springs Trail #66.........August 12, 2006. Note the numerous stamens.

Subspecies nortoniae differs from subspecies scouleri in having one to several simple stems (rather than multiple, often branched stems) less than 20 cm high and is generally found higher than ssp. scouleri in subalpine habitats.

A close-up sideview of the inflorescence of Norton's st. john's-wort. The simple stems are relatively lax and are spreading-ascending. Note also the ovate leaves that are paired on the stems.

The underside of the flower shows the broad, triangular sepals which help identify this species from common st. john's-wort (Hypericum perforatum). Note also the ovate shape of the stem leaf lacking the dots along the margin which are characteristic of common st. john's-wort.

A close-up of the flowers of Norton's st. john's-wort as seen at a seep along the Canyon Mountain Trail #218, Strawberry Mountain Wilderness...........August 19, 2011.

Paul Slichter