Hypericum polyphyllum (Nomenclature)
Shrub or suffrutex 0.1–0.43 m tall, erect to decumbent from taproot or rarely procumbent (‘var. prostratum’), not rooting, with stems few to numerous, caespitose, unbranched below inflorescence. Stem internodes 8–17 mm long, equalling or shorter than leaves. Leaves ascending to erect, usually glaucous; lamina 4–20 × 1–10 mm, broadly elliptic or oblong-elliptic to linear-oblong, slightly paler beneath (when green) or concolorous, chartaceous to coriaceous; apex rounded-obtuse to rounded-acute, margin plane to recurved, base broadly to narrowly cuneate; venation: 0–3 pairs of lateral veins from lower third of midrib, unbranched, laterals and tertiary reticulation not usually visible; laminar glands pale, rather dense, not or scarcely prominent; intramarginal glands black, usually large, irregularly spaced. Inflorescence 1–7(–17)-flowered, from 1–3(–5) nodes, ± dense, without lower branches, the whole subcorymbiform; pedicels c. 2 mm, rather stout; bracts reduced-foliar, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, usually with 1–2 black glands; bracteoles similar. Flowers 20– 40 mm in diam., stellate; buds narrowly ovoid-pyramidal, rounded. Sepals unequal or subequal, united at base, paler than leaves, 3.5–15 × 2–6.5 mm, ovate or ovate-lanceolate to broadly elliptic, acute or shortly acuminate to rounded-apiculate, base rounded to broadly cuneate, entire or rarely subundulate; veins 7–9, branching and anastomosing towards margin; laminar glands pale, linear to distally striiform, and sometimes 1–3 black, punctiform or striiform; marginal glands absent or sometimes 1–3 black, intramarginal. Petals bright yellow, not? tinged red, 18–25 × 3.5–9 mm, 1.5–5 × sepals, oblong-oblanceolate, rounded, apiculus lateral, very short or obscure; laminar glands pale, linear; marginal glands black, distal, some dense. Stamens c. 60–90, ‘3’-fascicled, longest 15–22 mm, c. 0.9–1× petals. Ovary c. 3 × 2 mm, ovoid-pyramidal; styles 17– 20 mm, c. 5–7 × ovary. Capsule 4–9 × 2.5–6 mm, shorter than sepals, broadly ovoid. Seeds shallowly linear-foveolate.
2n = 18 (Reynaud, 1973).
Sandy and stony places, macchie, usually on calcareous substrate; sea level to 1800 m.
Southeastern Mediterranean Turkey and adjacent Syria
In Flora of Turkey (Robson, 1967) and subsequently (Robson, 1980, 1988) the southeastern Turkish population of Sect. Olympia was treated as forma macrocalyx of H. olympicum. On returning to a consideration of this group for monographic purposes, it became clear to me that this population merged morphologically and geographically with H. polyphyllum. Further study showed that, although the combined population so formed was very similar to the Aegean/Balkan H. olympicum s.s., it could be distinguished by the shortly acuminate to muticous sepals and the glandularity (see key and also Robson, 1980). These character differences, along with the distributional disjunction, allow H. olympicum and H. polyphyllum (without ‘subspp. lycium and subcordatum’) to continue to be treated as distinct species.