Hypericum sinaicum (Nomenclature)
Perennial herb 0.1-0.35 m tall or long, ascending to prostrate from woody taproot, with numerous near-basal branches sometimes rooting, otherwise unbranched below inflorescence, the whole plant except pedicels and flowers densely to sparsely and shortly whitish pubescent. Stems green to reddish, terete, internodes exceeding leaves. Leaves sessile or with petiole to c. 0.3 mm; lamina 6-8 x 3-8 mm, narrowly oblong to elliptic or (lower) oblanceolate, almost concolorous, thinly chartaceous, not glaucous, plane, spreading to ascending; apex obtuse to rounded, margin plane, entire, base broadly cuneate to subcordate; venation: 2-3 pairs of laterals curved-ascending from lower 0.3-0.6 of midrib, tertiary reticulation obscure; laminar glands pale, rather dense, unequal, not prominent, and black, few, scattered, especially towards apex; intramarginal glands black, rather sparse, or absent; submarginal glands black, sparse, not always distinguishable from black laminar ones. Inflorescence c. 3-20-flowered from 1-2(3) nodes, corymbiform to rounded-pyramidal; pedicels 2.5-3.5(-4) mm in fruit; bracts not auriculate; bracteoles lanceolate or oblong to linear, with apex and margin sparsely black-glandular-ciliate or some glands sessile. Flowers 9-13 mm in diam.; buds broadly ellipsoid, obtuse to rounded. Sepals 3-3.5 x 1-2 mm, subequal, ovate or ovate-elliptic to suborbicular, acute to obtuse, with marginal glands dense to sparse, on cilia or sessile and prominent; veins 5, unbranched; laminar glands pale, linear or long striiform to punctiform, and a few black, submarginal and occasionally truly laminar; marginal and apical glands black, c. 8-12 on each side. Petals pale yellow, sometimes veined red, (5-)8-10 x (1.7-)2-3 mm, 2-3 x sepals, oblong-lanceolate, rounded, apiculus absent; laminar glands distal, pale to reddish, striiform to punctiform, and sometimes a few black, punctiform; marginal glands black, distal, sessile or on short cilia. Stamens 25-30, clearly 3-fascicled, longest 4-6.5 mm, 0.55-0.8 x petals; anther gland black. Ovary 1.5-2 x c. 1 mm, ovoid-pyramidal to ovoid; styles 3, 2.5-4.5 mm, 1.7-2.2 x ovary, spreading. Capsule 4-5 x 2-3 mm, ovoid, exceeding sepals, enclosed by petals twisting together. Seeds dark reddish brown, c. 0.5 mm long; testa finely scalariform-reticulate.
Damp rocks and seepage areas; 900-2400 m.
Egypt (Sinai), Saudi Arabia (extreme N. Hijaz), Jordan (Edom).
H. sinaicum is close to H. collenettiae from Asir, but is less woody at the base, with stems ascending to prostrate (not erect), leaves broader (sometimes petiolate) and flowers smaller with shorter and broader sepals. In addition, the pedicels lack the prominent reddish glands found in H. collenettiae. Collenette 7231 has delicate slender stems, leaves sometimes shortly petiolate and relatively small flowers and broad sepals with sessile marginal glands. Otherwise it seems to fit well into H. sinaicum, its abnormalities being the result of its growing in a particularly wet habitat.