St. John's Wort

One of my favorite plants. I bought a start from the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia, and happily it survived and is thriving in my yard.

It's so interesting to me how herbal plants look like the ailment they might help. In this case - depression. It looks like a sun burst. They seem to glow from within. When I first saw them in Butchart Gardens the sun was hitting a patch of them perfectly and it was strikingly florescent. It held me in amazement for a while.

Another name for it is Chase-Devil. It's name comes from the traditional flowering and harvesting on June 24th (slower here) which is St. John's Day. When the leaves are held up to the sun the translucent small oil glands look like windows.