Hypericum rigidum subsp. bracteatum
Shrub or ? subshrub, erect, with branches strict. Leaves 15-20 x 4-6 mm, narrowly elliptic to narrowly oblong-elliptic; apex acute to subacute, base narrowly cuneate to truncate. Inflorescence c. 5-12-flowered, with 1-3-flowered branches from c. 3 nodes below. Flowers c. 15-18 mm in diam., pedicels 3-6 mm long, bracts reduced foliar, 5-8 mm long, narrowly elliptic. Petals 8-10 mm long. Stamens c. 50, longest c. 4 mm long. Styles 5. Capsule not seen.
Brazil (Paraná).
Subsp. bracteatum differs from the more erect form of subsp. meridionale only in having leaves in the flowering region reduced in size and appearing as bracts. The only known specimen, however, forms a link between subsp. rigidum, on the one hand, and (respectively) the brasiliense group (Spp. 14-27) and subsect. Knifa (Spp. 28-52), on the other. Although it shares a collection number (St.-Hilaire 1631) with the type of the species, it is quite distinct from it and may even deserve recognition at the species level. At any rate, it is unlikely that it represents merely intra-population variation.