Hypericum cerastioides (Nomenclature)
Suffrutex or perennial herb 0.6–0.22(–0.25) m tall, erect to decumbent or rarely prostrate, from taproot, with stems few to numerous, caespitose, erect to spreading and rooting, unbranched or usually branched below inflorescence, often throughout. Stems shortly whitish-pubescent; internodes 5–35 mm long, shorter to longer than leaves. Leaves spreading to erect, not glaucous; lamina (5–)8–30 × 2–12 mm, broadly to narrowly elliptic or rarely ovate-lanceolate to narrowly oblong, concolorous, chartaceous, shortly whitish-pubescent with longer hairs on midrib below; apex obtuse to rounded, margin plane, base rounded-amplexicaul to cuneate; venation: 2 pairs of lateral veins from lower third of midrib, sometimes branching, larger leaves with obscure tertiary reticulation; laminar glands pale, dense; intramarginal glands pale and sometimes black, subregularly spaced. Inflorescence 1–5-flowered, from 1(2–3) nodes, sometimes with flowering branches from lower nodes to middle of stem or beyond, the whole subcorymbiform to rarely subpyramidal; pedicels 7–15 mm, slender; bracts and bracteoles lanceolate, without black glands. Flowers 20–50 mm in diam.; buds globose, nodding. Sepals ± unequal, free, broadly imbricate, paler than leaves, 5–10 × 1.5–8 mm, enlarging in fruit, narrowly to broadly elliptic or ovate-lanceolate, obtuse (or rarely acute) to rounded, base cuneate, entire; veins 7–9, branching and anastomosing; laminar glands pale, linear to striiform; marginal glands absent. Petals golden yellow, not tinged red, 9–21 × 5–13 mm, c. 2 × sepals, oblanceolate to obovate, rounded, apiculus absent; laminar glands pale, linear to striiform; marginal glands black, quite dense, round margin and sometimes a few intramarginal. Stamens c. 60–100, ‘fascicles usually all basally united, longest 5–10 mm, c. 0.5 × petals. Ovary 3–6 × 2–4 mm, broadly ovoid to ovoid-elliptic; styles 2.5–4.5 mm, divergent, c. 0.8 × ovary. Capsule 5–12 × 4–10 mm, broadly ovoid to globose. Seeds dark brown, 1.5-2 mm; testa foveolate-scalariform.
2n = 16 (Krusheva, 1975; van Loon & van Setten, 1982; Strid & Franzén, 1983).
Meadows, stony or rocky places, and in Pinus, Fagus or mixed woodland, on siliceous soil; 50–1900 m (Turkey), 100–c. 1700 m (Greece), 1200–2100 m (Bulgaria).
Southern Bulgaria, northeastern Greece, northwestern Turkey.
Hypericum cerastioides, in some ways, is clearly intermediate between H. olympicum forma olympicum (Sect. 10. Olympia) and H. origanifolium (Sect. 12. Origanifolia). Its large-flowered, large-leaved, erect form with broad imbricate sepals (from Bulgaria and Greek Makedhonia) is superficially very similar to forms of H. olympicum; but in its pubescence, relatively broader leaves and gland-margined petals, it resembles H. origanifolium; and its geographical distribution is intermediate between the Aegean distribution of H. olympicum and the west Anatolian area of H. origanifolium. Hypericum cerastioides, however, differs from both these species in having nodding floral buds and capsules, amber anther glands and longitudinally vittate capsule valves; and it has a different chromosome number. Whereas both the related species have 2n = 18, H. cerastoides is more advanced in having 2n = 16. It is for these reasons that H. cerastioides cannot be included in either of the above sections and has to occupy a section of its own.
The variation in H. cerastioides shows a cline between the erect, non-rooting, large-flowered form found in the Rhodope mountains and elsewhere in southern Bulgaria (H. rhodoppeum) and the procumbent to prostrate, rooting form common in Turkey. Hagemann (1989) differentiated the ends of the cline as subspecies; but to me the cline appears to be continuous, so no infraspecific taxa in the species have been recognised.