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Bedstraw St. John's-wort

Hypericum galioides

Found in wet pine savannas, wet pine flatwoods, pools, edges of bottomlands. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

69
Strong

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
1–5 feet
Spread
1–5 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 3 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 11 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous or evergreen
Bloom
June to August
Fruiting season
Summer

Recorded in 1 Virginia county.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.

1 of 2

Pine savannas

Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype
Sandy pine savanna. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

Pine flatwoods

Wet Pine Flatwoods, Shaken Creek Preserve - typical shrub layer
Wet pine flatwoods with a shrub layer. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Wet Pine Flatwoods, Shaken Creek Preserve - typical shrub layer, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.
Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

22CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Hypericum

  • Acleris maculidorsanaStained-Back Leafroller Moth
  • Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
  • Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
  • Hyppa xylinoidesCommon Hyppa
  • Iodopepla u-albumBurgundy St. Johnswort Moth, White-Eyed Borer
  • Iridopsis ephyrariaPale-Winged Gray
  • Melanchra assimilisBlack Arches
  • Nedra ramosulaGray Half-Spot
  • Nemoria bistriariaTwo-Striped Emerald, Red-Fringed Emerald
  • Nemoria tuscaroraAppalachian Emerald
Show all 22
  • Phlogophora irisOlive Angle Shades
  • Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
  • Probole amicariaFriendly Probole
  • Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
  • Synchlora aerataWavy-Lined Emerald, Camouflaged Looper
  • Tallula watsoniWatson's Tallula
  • Xestia c-nigrumSpotted Cut-Worm, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lesser Black-letter Dart
  • Zale lunataLunate Zale
  • Agonopterix hyperella
  • Agonopterix lythrella
  • Coleotechnites nigritus
  • Xenotemna pallorana
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
43BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Hypericum

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Hypericum

  • Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Hypericaceae
Hardiness
Zones 7a–9b
Flower color
Yellow
Growth rate
Moderate
Growth habit
Several stems
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Summer
Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “June to August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “Yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth habit · “Several stems” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Hardiness · “Zones 7a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Height · “1–5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
  • Leaves · “Deciduous or evergreen” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • primary_flower_color · “yellow” · USDA PLANTS
  • Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Spread · “1–5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as

Bedstraw St. John's wort

Conservation status

Virginia rankS1
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources