NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

Hypericum hypericoides [= Ascyrum hypericoides]

St. Andrew's Cross

Scientific Name:	Hypericum hypericoides [= Ascyrum hypericoides]
Genus:	Hypericum
Species Epithet:	hypericoides
Common Name:	St. Andrew's Cross
Plant Type	Shrub
Life Cycle	Perennial
Plant Family	Hypericaceae (St. Johns-Wort Family)
Native/Alien:	NC Native
Size:	0-1 ft., 1-3 ft.
Bloom Color(s):	Yellow
Light:	Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day, Part Shade - 2 to 6 hours of sun per day
Soil Moisture:	Dry, Moist
Bloom Time:	May, June, July, August
Growing Area:	Mountains, Piedmont, Sandhills, Coastal Plain
Habitat Description:	Dry forests and woodlands (Weakley 2015). Sorrie (2011—A Field Guide to the Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region), states “Inhabits dry to moist pinelands, oak-hickory woods, and flatwoods, but sometimes also in wetter situations such as seepage slopes and cypress-gum swamps.” Uncommon in NC Mountains, common in Piedmont and Coastal Plain.
Leaf Arrangement:	Opposite
Leaf Retention:	Deciduous
Leaf Type:	Leaves veined, not needle-like or scale-like
Leaf Form:	Simple
Life Cycle:	Perennial
Wildlife Value:	Has some wildlife value
Landscape Value:	Not Recommended for home landscapes
State Rank:	S5: Secure ^(*Key)
Global Rank:	G5 - Secure ^(*Key)
Notes:	Weakley places the Hypericums in the Hypericaceae family
Young Plant
Bloom About 1" across
Bloom Close Up
Seed Pods
Growing in its habitat Growing in dry, sandy woods, St Andrew's cross has an open structure, small delicate flowers, bright green leaves and interesting bark. Paynter, August, 2013, Wilmington
Flower One of the 4-petaled Hypericums, St Andrew's cross has leaves that are widest in the middle and unequal pairs of sepals (1 pair is hardly noticeable)
Leaves
Bark
Links:	USDA PLANTS Database Record