''Hypericum balearicum'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the family ''

Hypericaceae Hypericaceae is a plant family in the order Malpighiales, comprising six to nine genera and up to 700 species, and commonly known as the St. John's wort family. Members are found throughout the world apart from extremely cold or dry habitats. ...

'', native to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

. It is the only species in the

section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

''Psorophytum''.

Description

''Hypericum balearicum'' is a shrub or small tree tall, usually forming a rounded bush with erect or ascending branches. Its stems are glandular and warty, yellow-green when young, becoming reddish-brown as it ages. The leaves are sessile, up to long and broad. The leaves have rounded tips, undulate margins, and broadly cuneate to rounded bases. They are leathery, with prominent warty glands, and paler underneath. The flowers are across with 5 golden yellow petals (rarely pale yellow), rounded sepals, with

involucre In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also look ...

-like bracts. The petals are oblong with rounded tips, long, and across. Its warty stems and leaves and its involucre-like bracts distinguish it from other species of ''Hypericum''.

Distribution and habitat

''H. balearicum'' is confined to the Balearic Islands (

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

, Cabrera, and

Dragonera Dragonera (; ; "Dragon Island"), also called Sa Dragonera, is an uninhabited islet in the Balearic Islands, Spain, located just off the west coast of Majorca. It is currently a natural park, Parc Natural Sa Dragonera. Geography Geologically spe ...

). It is common on Mallorca but rare on the other islands. It has been introduced to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is found in dry woods and calcareous rocky habitats, from .

References

California Flora Nursery
* J.D. Curtis and N.R. Lersten, "Internal secretory structures in ''Hypericum'' (Hypericaceae): ''H. perforatum'' L. and ''H. balearicum'' L.", ''New Phytologist'', volume 114, issue 4, pages 571-580, April 28, 2006. {{Taxonbar, from=Q804885 balearicum Endemic flora of the Balearic Islands Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus