Hypericum hircinum subsp. cambessedesii (Nomenclature)
Plant 0.2-1 m tall, with stems erect. Leaves 22-48 x 7-20 mm, lanceolate to triangular-lanceolate, subacute to obtuse, margin plane, base rounded to cuneate, goat-scented. Flowers 20-30 mm in diam. Petals 10-15 mm long. Styles 10-13 mm long. Capsule 8-14 x 5-7 mm.
Balearic Islands (Mallorca).
Although the epithet minus was originally applied by Dillenius to the taxon that has to be known as subsp. hircinum (i.e. subsp. obtusifolium (Choisy) Sauvage), Aiton's confusion of this with subsp. cambessedesii has resulted in the latter's currently being called 'var. minus' in horticultural circles. The confusion between this subspecies and H. canariense, which was originated by earlier authors than Cambessèdes (1827)[1], has persisted down to the present day, so that H. cambessedesii has been recorded in error for Macaronesia by several authors. Subsp. cambessedesii is very similar to the form of subsp. majus in Cataluña, differing essentially from it only in size of parts.
[1] Two Miller specimens at BM, one in the general collection and the other in Herb. Sloane t. 288 f. 74 (both of which are H. hircinum subsp. cambessedesii), have ‘Hypericum frutescens canariense multiflorum, Hort. Amstel. 2. 135’ on theirlabel, although this phrase name refers to H. canariense L.