November 2020 – Guess That Plant
This is the FNJP’s 116th edition of Guess that Plant!
The November 2020 Guess that Plant photo is small herb that was once extremely rare, and due to the quirks of nature is now expanding its range Do you know this species by it leaf shape? If so, send your answer for this month’s Guess that Plant.
October’s Plant:
Hypericum dissimulatum E. P. Bicknell, Disguised St. Johnswort
The October 2020 Guess that Plant was a tricky native New Jersey St. Johnswort that is known as Hypericum dissimulatum or Hypericum x dissimulatum depending on the current species understanding.
The Flora of North America (FNA Vol. 6) identifies this plant as a hybrid between H. canadense L. and H. mutilum L. As described in FNA, Volume 6, “Hypericum canadense is closely related to H. majus; it hybridizes with that species and with H. mutilum, producing intermediate forms. Hypericum ×dissimulatum E. P. Bicknell appears to comprise a continuous series of hybrids between H. canadense and H. mutilum or H. boreale such that it is not always possible to say which of these species is involved.”
The disguised St. Johnswort is a wetland plant, and is found on moist to saturated sandy acidic soils. The species, H. canadense is found statewide. The hybrid H. x dissumilatum is most abundant on New Jersey’s Coastal Plain.
JRA 10/2020
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