Saint John's wort (Family Hypericaceae)

Hypericaceae is a plant family in order Malpighiales. Some bot-

anists treat it as a subfamily of the Clusiaceae. The Hypericaceae,

or Clusiaceae, are trees or shrubs, usually with milky or colored sap,

comprising about 50 genera and 1200 species. Considerable discus-

sion has taken place concerning the taxonomic delineation of Famil-

ies Hypericaceae, Clusiaceae, and Guttiferae. For the Nature Guide,

all three will be treated as the same.

Members of family Hypericaceae are cosmopolitan inhabitating both
temperate and tropical regions.

Family Hypericaceae members provide some edible fruit, primarily

from genera Garcinia (mangosteen) and Mammea (mammee apple,

mamey).

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