Helpful Herbal Treatment or Noxious Livestock Killer?

The St John’s wort(Hypericum perforatum)  has been known to be a helpful herbal treatment for many things including depression, bedwetting and is used as an ointment for burns (mountainroseherbs). It is an attractive little flower, with five brightly coloured, star shaped, yellow petals and a cluster of stamens in the middle. They grow to be a meter tall and can have many flower clusters per stem. They often seem like helpful bits of sunshine on a hot summer day and can be seen peacefully occupying roadsides, grasslands and pastures (coastalinvasiveplants). Yet these flowers are not as innocent as they seem.

Photo: John Maunder

The St. John’s wort is Native to Europe, North Africa and Asia but can now be found in over 20 countries around the world. It was first introduced to North American by German settlers who first planted it in Philadelphia in 1696. At this time it was thought to ward off evil spirits and was planted in mass amounts. It was spread across North America as European settlers travelled, planting it wherever they landed (Kaufman). It continues to spread across Canada and the United States by means such wind, water, humans, and other animals. It is considered highly invasive due to its high distributing ability it’s large and hardy seed bank and its ability to make thousands of seeds per plant (UDSA).

Photo: John Maunder

The plant is considered a threat due to its noxious tendencies. It causes heavy damage to agriculture by outcompeting agricultural crops. It also poses a threat to livestock as it causes skin irritation, fetal death and even death to the individual when brushed up against or ingested. It may also pose a threat to humans if the sap comes in contact with skin, mild irritation and sensitivity to sunlight may occur (UDSA).

Photo: John Maunder

It is considered a noxious plant by 20 countries. Within Canada two provinces declared it a noxious plant and 7 States within the USA. Australia has also been hit hard by this invasive plant (UDSA). The plant can be found all over NL and has been tracked by Newfoundland nature. One of the most recent populations has been observed near Hopeall Newfoundland. A population can even be found nearby in Pippy Park near the fluvarium (NL Nature).

One way that is used to eradicate this plant is to simply till it or pull out the stalks. Yet this is often ineffective as it has a highly extensive root system and continually buds from roots. Bio-control is a popular method of removing the species. This has been tried in parts of Canada, the United States and Australia. Some success has been seen in uses of bio-control but nothing has been found suitable enough to fully control the plant. At least five bio-control methods have been used in Canada and the USA yet only few have seen any results. The most successful instance of bio-control has been the use of insects that destroy the leaves and roots (Kaufman) . In Australia the use of chrysolina insects and the fungus Melampsora hypericorum used in New Zealand, have been implemented as bio-control, yet have not been able to successfully eradicate the plant.


No country has successfully eradicated the St. John’s wort. Yet with continuous trials of bio-control being conducted all over the world a solution should not be too far from grasp.

           

Works Cited

"Hypericum Perforatum." St. John's Wort. Coastal Invasive Plant Committee BC, 2011. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://www.coastalinvasiveplants.com/article/96-st-johns-wort>.

Kaufman, Wallace, and Sylvan R. Kaufman. Http://books.google.ca/books?id=oKVDUWHVf-UC&dq=invasive+st+johns+wort&source=gbs_navlinks_s. Nature, 2007. Google Books. 2007. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. <http://books.google.ca/books?id=oKVDUWHVf-UC&dq=invasive+st+johns+wort&source=gbs_navlinks_s>.

"Meet the NL Wildlife." St. John's Wort (Hypericum Perforatum) Observation by Marcel Roy. NL Nature, 2012. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://www.nlnature.com/Newfoundland-Canada-Nature/728.aspx>.

Parsons, W. T., and E. G. Cuthbertson. Noxious Weeds of Australia. Collingwood, VIC, Australia: CSIRO Pub., 2001. Google Books. Web. <http://books.google.ca/books?id=sRCrNAQQrpwC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>.

"St John's Wort Herb Profile." Bulk Organic Herbs, Spices & Essential Oils from Mountain Rose Herbs.                Mountain Rose Herbs. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/stjohnswort.php>.

UDSA. "Hypericum Perforatum." Invasive Plants. UDSA Forest Service, 2012. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/forb/hypper/all.html