Hypericum annulatum subsp. annulatum (Nomenclature)
Stems usually with numerous black (or very rarely red) glands, densely to sparsely puberulous or rarely glabrous. Leaves sometimes with few to numerous laminar black glands, puberulous above and densely pubescent beneath or very rarely wholly glabrous. Sepals long-glandular-ciliate (i.e. cilia more than twice as long as glands), usually with some or all laminar glands black. Petals with few distal or numerous scattered punctiform laminar black glands, always? red-tinged in bud.
SE Ethiopia (Harar), East Africa (eastern Uganda, south-western Kenya, northern Tanzania).
Subsp. afromontanum is characterised by an increase of black glands (stem, leaves, sepals, petals), constant long sepalline cilia and red-tinged petals, and the almost constant occurrence of indumentum on stem and leaves. In these characters the Harar population from Ethiopia agrees with the East African plants except for the absence of black glands on the stem.
The type of H. afromontanum belongs to an upland form with a condensed inflorescence; but this cannot be separated from the lower-altitude form with the typical, widely spreading lax inflores- cence on account of numerous intermediate specimens.