Hypericum naudinianum (Nomenclature)
Perennial herb (0.3-)0.5-1.5 m tall, erect to ascending from creeping and rooting base, with woody taproot, the basal branches numerous, diffuse, upper branches few, ascending or spreading-ascending or usually absent, the whole plant except inflorescence rather densely crisped-pubescent or (leaves) puberulous. Stems green to reddish (below), sometimes 2-lined and ancipitous in upper parts of inflorescence, otherwise terete; internodes mostly exceeding leaves. Leaves sessile, all pairs connate; lamina 10-45 x 10-30 mm, broadly elliptic to broadly oblong or obovate, subconcolorous, herbaceous, not glaucous, plane, spreading; apex rounded, margin plane, base usually with acute to obtuse or rarely rounded sinus between pairs; venation: 3 pairs of laterals, curved-ascending from lower c. 0.3 of midrib; tertiary reticulation dense, plane, not bullate/impressed; laminar glands pale, dense near margin, sparse near centre, not prominent and occasionally a few black, scattered; intramarginal glands black, sparse or absent. Inflorescence c. 10-100-flowered from 1-3 nodes, densely curved-corymbiform to rounded-pyramidal, becoming monochasial after second flower, sometimes with flowering branches from up to 4 nodes, the whole then laxly cylindric to obconic; pedicels (2-)3-6 mm; bracts not auriculate; bracteoles linear-triangular, black-glandular-ciliate or with some or all marginal glands sessile. Flowers c. 15-17 mm in diam.; buds ellipsoid, obtuse. Sepals 3-5 x 1-1.7 mm, subequal to unequal, elliptic to oblong or rarely ovate, acute to subacuminate, with margin gland-fringed; veins 5, branched and reticulating towards margin and distally; laminar glands pale and/or black, striiform to (mostly) punctiform, scattered; marginal glands black, prominent or on very short cilia. Petals 'clear butter yellow', tinged or veined red, 8-9(-10) x c. 2-2.5 mm, narrowly oblanceolate, rounded, without apiculus; laminar glands pale, punctiform to shortly linear, very sparse or absent, and occasionally black, few, distal; marginal glands black, few or in short dense row, distal. Stamens c. 35-40, clearly 3-fascicled, longest (6-)7-8 mm, c. 0.8 x petals; anther gland amber. Ovary c. 2.5 x 1.8 mm, narrowly ovoid; styles 3, 4.5-5 mm long, c. 2 x ovary, widely spreading-incurved. Capsule 4.5-6 x 2.5-4 mm, ovoid-pyramidal to ovoid, 1.3-2 x sepals, enclosed by petals twisting together. Seeds yellow-brown, 0.4-0.5 mm long; testa finely scalariform.
2n = 18 (Jones in Robson, 1981, as H. coadunatum), n = 9 (Galland, 1988, as H. coadunatum).
Wet rocks, wet shady banks, streamsides, waterfalls; 90-2230 m.
Morocco (Grand Atlas to Rabat Rif), Algeria (north central).
Although very similar to H. coadunatum (q.v.), H. naudinianum has apparently constant morphological differences as well as its distinct geographical distribution that favour its recognition as a species. It is even closer morphologically than is H. coadunatum to the Spanish H. caprifolium (q.v.), which differs essentially from it only in the characters of the calyx.