Hypericum apiculatum (Nomenclature)
Perennial herb, 0.35–0.70 m tall, glabrous, erect, not rooting at base, not branching below inflorescence, with sterile shoots ascending. Stems not glaucous, with ± numerous scattered amber or black glandular dots towards base, not prominent; internodes 15–35 mm, exceeding leaves. Leaves sessile to c. 1 mm petiolate, not glaucous; lamina (main stem) 12–30 × 2–9 mm, narrowly oblong to linear, apex obtuse to rounded or rarely acuminate, margin plane to usually revolute, base cuneate to truncate, 1-veined or with up to 3 pairs of near basal lateral branches, with laminar glands pale, small, dense and some black, often larger, marginal glands dense, sometimes black; lamina (axillary and sterile shoots) smaller, narrower, apex mucronate to apiculate or uncinate. Inflorescence ∞-flowered, from 7–12 nodes, cylindric to very narrowly pyramidal, dense to rather lax, (90–)180–300 mm long, with lateral cymules1–3(5)-flowered, without or with up to 4 pairs of flowering branches; bracts and bracteoles triangular-ovate to triangular-lanceolate, entire. Flowers 15–28 mm in diam., spreading after flowering; buds broadly ellipsoid. Sepals unequal, free or basally united, imbricate or not, 2– 3.5 × 1–1.5 mm, elliptic or elliptic-ovate to broadly or narrowly oblong, obtuse to acute; veins 3–5; margin wholly or distally with regular, sessile or subsessile globose black glands; laminar glands pale, linear. Petals rather pale yellow, often red-tinged or red-veined, 12–18 × 5–7 mm, 5–6 × sepals, obovate, unguiculate, rounded, distally shortly black-glandular-ciliate; laminar glands pale, numerous, punctiform and striiform and (usually on all) black, few, punctiform. Stamens 40–50, longest c. 6–7 mm; filaments not red-tinged. Ovary 2.5–3 × 2 mm, ovoid, slightly rostrate; styles (3–)3.5–4.5 mm, 1.2–1.5 × ovary. Capsule (6–)7–9 × 4–5.5 mm, ovoid, shortly acuminate to shortly rostrate. Seeds dark brown, 1.5–2 mm long.
Meadows, rocky igneous slopes, open Quercus-Juniperus woodland; (900–)1400–2600 m.
Northeastern & eastern Turkey, Georgia, Krym (fide Sennikov, 1993), Armenia, Azerbaijan, northern Iran, western Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan.
Hypericum apiculatum can usually be easily distinguished from 1a. H. elongatum subsp. elongatum by the mucronate to uncinate apex of the axillary shoot leaves, the presence of black glands on the leaves and petals, the small sepals with regularly gland-fringed margin, and the rostrate capsule. None of these characters is absolutely constant, except possibly those of the sepals; and intermediate forms (e.g. without black glands) occur in eastern Turkey and adjacent Armenia and Nakhchivan. These have been distinguished here as 1c. H. elongatum var. antasiaticum.