Saint Andrews Cross

Hypericum hypericoides (L.) Crantz ssp. hypericoides

This flowering shrub usually produces yellow flowers from May through August.

Found in the dry woodlands of North Carolina's coastal plain and piedmont, St. Andrew's Cross also ranges across most of the eastern United States.

Native Americans used the roots and leaves to treat a variety of ailments.

The root was chewed as an antidote to rattlesnake bite.

A tea made from the roots was used to treat colic, fever, pain in general, kidney and bladder ailments, diarrhea and skin problems.

A milky substance obtained from the plant was rubbed on sores and other skin ulcerations, as was the tea.

Range: AL, AR, DE, FL, GA, IL, KY, LA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NJ, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA

Taxonomic Classification

• Superdivision Spermatophyta - Seed plants
• Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
• Class: Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
• Subclass: Dilleniidae
• Order: Theales
• Family: Clusiaceae - Mangosteen family
• Genus: Hypericum L. - St. Johnswort
• Species: Hypericum hypericoides (L.) Crantz - St. Andrew's cross
• Subspecies: Hypericum hypericoides (L.) Crantz ssp. hypericoides
• St. Andrew's Cross