Common St. John’s-Wort – Hypericum Perforatum: Edible & Medicinal Uses of the Happy Little Flower of Wild Plants

Called nsidaiindamowin mshkiki by Joe from Creators Garden, “depression medicine”, St. John’s-wort (Hypericum perforatum) is worthy of the happy little Bob Ross reference. It’s an edible and renown medicinal plant. Locals especially, check Joe out! He’s in Peterborough area.

While picking common for the title plant, I could just as well go all out hypericum var. There are many different St. John’s-worts around here! There are a few native species in Ontario (marsh, shrubby, calm as referred to by Joe) but you’re most likely to find the naturalized or invasive European imports. However, if you’re making medicine look out for the wild and native ones! The untitled found here as per Haliburton Flora are:

• Two types of Northern St. John’s-wort (hypericum boreale and f. callitrichoides)
• Canadian St. John’s-wort (h. canadense)
• Pale St. John’s-wort (h. ellipticum)
• Large St. John’s-wort (h. majus)
• Dwarf St. John’s-wort (h. mutilum)
• Marsh St. John’s-wort (triadenum fraseri or hypericum virginicum)

Edible Uses of St. John’s-Wort

The fresh leaves are edible and the flowers make a nice calming tea. The flavour is piney.

There’s a giant version (H. ascryon) found elsewhere in North America with edible young shoots.

Medicinal Uses of St. John’s-Wort

St. John’s-wort is primarily said to support these body systems:

• Integumentary
• Nervous
• Respiratory

Medicinal tags include Anti-inflammatory, Antibacterial, Antiviral, Antispasmodic, Astringent, Diuretic, Expectorant and Sedative. See Medicinal tag key for more information.

Common usage includes the constituent hyperforin for mild depression, anxiety, SAD – as a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor. Not for mania/bipolar disorder – not without a mood stabilizer anyway.

It’s best to source it yourself! Some of the products out there for sale don’t even have any hyperforin in them. You have to harvest at a precise time. Press the buds between your fingers and there should be a spurt of purple or deep red in the short window you’re looking for. The flowers should just be opening. I did not know this the first time I tried to make medicine from this plant, and it wasn’t even pink let alone a red. It must be a deep red! Timely picked flowers, and just the flowers, covered and inch over in olive oil, sit in sunlight for about 3 weeks til deep red. Strain and bottle.

The boost will likely be immediate and then drop off – you have to stick with it to give it a fair shot!

It’s also a great addition to skin salves including for bruising and strains. Pain salves too! You’ll want that deep red in that case too!

Alternative Uses of Amber Touch-and-heal

Yellow, green, red and pink dyes can be obtained.

Growing Hypericum Perforatum

This sun loving, hardy perennial has some preference for dry soil. It’s easy to germinate if you lightly press the seeds into the soil after the danger of frost has passed, without covering! However, it’s introduced here and there are native options that’ll help the wildlife more. Northern St. John’s-Wort (Hypericum boreale) and Pale St. John’s-Wort (Hypericum ellipticum) are the most common natives here (but there are more). We have two pink flowering marsh-loving varieties too! You can see the whole of them on iNat. I will cover the native ones in a separate post or two in the future.

WARNINGS

The plant contains preformed photo-active compounds. Excessive, high dose use may cause photosensitivity, a rare complication resulting in sunburn, blistery lesions or rashes on areas of skin exposed to sunlight or therapy lights. There are so many inflated claims and fear-mongering about many plants in this regard – I will definitely be addressing it in a upcoming wild parsnip article!

This is one of the herbal medicines that is more likely to be contaminated or misused – reputable sourcing and guidance recommended.

St. John’s-wort can cause drug interactions.

Poisonous to livestock.

And the Usual Cautions:

1) Most medicinal herbs, if edible, are meant to be eaten in moderation, even sparingly. Some require extra preparation. Tannins are toxic if consumed in excess. Before taking any new supplements, you should consult with a healthcare professional.

2) A vast amount of these herbs are diuretic. (See the Medicinal tags above to check if this featured herb is one of them!) Diuretics are generally safe, but they can be risky for people with other medical conditions or who take certain medications. Please consult your doctor if you have any health conditions.

3) People can be allergic or sensitive to nearly any plant; try new herbs one at a time at your own risk. For instance, saponins commonly cause stomach upset.

4) For serious medicinal use, I must recommend receiving a diagnosis and working with a reputed health care provider. I generally do not post specific treatments and dosages because I think that is best between you and your health care provider, and ideally monitored.

5) Anyone pregnant, nursing, or taking prescription drugs should talk to a health care professional before adding new food items to their diet.

6) Many plants have look-a-likes, and sometimes they are poisonous.

#ads in References

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Every book I reference that is available on Amazon is linked to with an associates link.

Disclaimer for Song of the Woods

If you require any more information or have any questions about our site’s disclaimer, please feel free to contact us by email at rachel@songofthewoods.com.

Disclaimers for Song of the Woods

All the information on this website – https://www.songofthewoods.com/ – is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. Song of the Woods does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this website (Song of the Woods), is strictly at your own risk. Song of the Woods will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website.

From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to such external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content and nature of these sites. These links to other websites do not imply a recommendation for all the content found on these sites. Site owners and content may change without notice and may occur before we have the opportunity to remove a link which may have gone ‘bad’.

Please be also aware that when you leave our website, other sites may have different privacy policies and terms which are beyond our control. Please be sure to check the Privacy Policies of these sites as well as their “Terms of Service” before engaging in any business or uploading any information.

Consent

By using our website, you hereby consent to our disclaimer and agree to its terms.

Update

Should we update, amend or make any changes to this document, those changes will be prominently posted here.

REFERENCES

My new favourite foraging book is Sam Thayer’s Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern & Central North America and this plant IS NOT featured in his book. Which to the least means it isn’t a popular edible. I highly recommend this thorough guide for your bookshelves!

*Sam does include a specific species however: Giant St. John’s Wort (H. Ascryon).

Hypericum perforatum Linnaeus – Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN)

wiki/Hypericum_perforatum

Ontario Wildflowers: 101 Wayside Flowers

Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide: 33 Healing Herbs to Know, Grow, and Use

The Herb Book: The Most Complete Catalog of Herbs Ever Published (Dover Cookbooks)

Native Plants, Native Healing: Traditional Muskagee Way

Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada

Indian Herbalogy of North America: The Definitive Guide to Native Medicinal Plants and Their Uses

The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine

Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs

Reader’s Digest Magic and Medicine of Plants