Hypericum simonsii (Nomenclature)
Stems reddish- brown, 4-lined when young, eventually terete, without epidermal wrinkles, cortex flaking irregularly; internodes 2-10 mm long. Leaves sessile, spreading from the base, not tetrastichous, becoming brown and deflexed, usually persistent until cortex is shed; lamina (7-)8-16(-20) x (2.2-)3-5.2(-7) mm, narrowly elliptic to narrowly oblong, plane, not concave or carinate, concolorous, pale green, chartaceous; apex rounded, base cuneate, not sheathing, pairs united to form a narrow interfoliar ridge; basal or near-basal veins 5-7, with branches and tertiary reticulation rather conspicuous; laminar glands dense, visible beneath only. Inflorescence 1 (2)- flowered, mostly terminal and lateral, occasionally pseudo-dichotomous; peduncle and pedicels 4-7 mm long; upper leaves not transitional. Flowers 20-35 mm in diam., stellate. Sepals 6-10.5 x 2.4-3.5 mm, lanceolate or narrowly elliptic to narrowly oblong or oblanceolate, subacute to rounded; veins 5-7, not or obscurely branched, midrib not prominent; glands distally punctiform. Petals bright yellow, 10-21 x 7-13 mm, c. 2 x sepals, oblanceolate; apiculus obtuse; glands distally interrupted. Stamens c. 100, 'obscurely 5-fascicled', longest c. 7 mm long, 0.4-0.5 x petals. Ovary 2.5-3.5 x 2.5 mm, ovoid; styles 3-4, 4.5-6 mm long, c. 2 x ovary, spreading, distally incurved; stigmas narrowly capitate. Capsule c. 8 x 5 mm, subglobose, shorter than sepals. Seeds not seen.
In paramo, bushy prairies, and thickets; 3250-4100 m.
Apparently confined to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia (Magdalena).
H. simonsii, which is apparently confined to the Sierra de Santa Marta massif, is related to H. phellos (Venezuela-Colombia border area). It is morphologically more specialised in that its leaves are united by an interfoliar ridge, but it is more primitive in that they have 5-7 basal or near-basal veins.