Hypericum globuliferum
Perennial herb with stems 0.04-0.35 m long, prostrate or pendent to ascending, sometimes rooting at the base, branches spreading from the base and sometimes pinnately ascending distally. Stems green, 4-angled, ancipitous above; internodes 5-30 mm long, exceeding leaves. Leaves sessile or very shortly petiolate, erect or usually ascending to spreading, not tetrastichous, persistent; lamina 3-12 x 1-5 mm linear-oblong or lanceolate to (i) ovate or oblong-ovate or broadly elliptic or (ii) oblanceolate-spathulate to suborbicular, plane or margin recurved to indurated, not cucullate, midrib slightly prominent beneath and smooth, rather densely to not glaucous beneath, coriaceous to chartaceous; apex obtuse to rounded, margin entire to finely eroded-denticulate, base cordate-amplexicaul to cuneate, not sheathing, free; basal veins 1-5, unbranched, tertiary venation obscure or absent; laminar glands dense, not prominent. Inflorescence 1-flowered or secondarily dichasial/monochasial (2-5-flowered), some- times with pinnate flowering branches to near base of stem; primary pedicels 4-25 mm long, not incrassate; bracts foliar. Flowers 6-11 mm in diam., stellate. Sepals 2.5-9 x 0.7-3 mm, elliptic or oblong to linear or to oblanceolate-spathulate or obovate, acute to rounded; veins l-5(-11) unbranched; glands basally linear or all punctiform. Petals deep yellow to orange, not tinged red in bud, 3-7 x 1-4 mm, about equalling or shorter than sepals, oblong-oblanceolate to obovate or elliptic, apiculus minute, subacute, or obsolete; glands absent. Stamens 16-30, not grouped or obscurely 3-fascicled, longest 2-4 mm long, 0.5-0.75 x petals. Ovary 1.1-2.5 x 0.8-1.1mm, narrowly ovoid to subglobose; styles 3, 0.8-2.5 mm long, 0.6-1 x ovary; stigmas narrowly clavate. Capsule 2.5-4 x 2-3 mm, cylindric-ellipsoid to subglobose, shorter than sepals. Seeds c. 0.7 mm long; testa finely scalariform to scalariform-reticulate.
Dry to wet grasslands, marshes or dripping rocks; 600-2000 m.
Madagascar (mainly east-central).
There are two main habitat forms of H. globuliferum: (i) a lower-altitude (600-1500 m) form of marshes and dripping rocks, with elongate, ascending or pendent stems, leaves usually rather narrow, with reflexed or indurated to eroded-denticulate margin, glaucous beneath and usually with midrib depressed, and sepals relatively narrow (oblong-elliptic to linear); (ii) a higher-altitude (1000-2000 m) form of dry to wet grasslands, with shorter, prostrate radiating stems, leaves rather broad with plane entire margin, not glaucous beneath or with depressed midrib, and sepals relatively broad (obovate to lanceolate or narrowly oblong). In a previous paper (Robson, 1973), I treated these as subspecies, whereas Perrier de la Bathie (1951) regarded them as formae. If H. globuliferum is included in this species as an extreme form of (i) (as I now think that it is), then my H. perrieri falls into synonymy. It seems unnecessary to give the habitat forms formal rank, as the range of variation with the species appears to be continuous and there is no geographical differentiation between the forms (see map in Robson, 1973). If a subsequent author were to give them formal ranks, form (i) would be the type and form (ii) would require a new combination under H. globuliferum.