Saturday, July 16, 2011

Aaron's Beard or Creeping St. John's Wort

On the Rochester Civic Garden Center's summer tour of gardens . . . .

Hypericum calycinum is an evergreen ground cover with a startlingly yellow flower. Related to St. John's Wort ~ Hypericum perforatum. St. John's Wort was gathered and burned to ward off evil spirits on the eve of St. John's Day, mid-summer or summer solstice feast, usually around June 24. The term 'wort' refers to the 'plant' or 'herb' aspect. Traced before 1000 to Middle English and Old English wyrt --descended from the German, würze or spice.

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