St John’s Wort
stjohnswort – Originally uploaded by VirusHead.
I have finally found a flowering bush (”hedgerow plant”) that grows and seems to thrive in Georgia clay! The hypericum perforatum was a little shaky the first year – it needed pruning back. This year it is magnificent and clippings easily take root. Let’s not talk about my sentimental lilac attempts – they just don’t like it here.
There are a lot of different types of St. John’s Wort (They should either say St. John’s Word, or Wort von spricht John heilig, I think). This is the one the nearby nursery ordered for me when I said I wanted a bush, not a vine or a small plant.
St. John’s Wort has been used worldwide and with some success to treat depression (the plant, not the biblical book of John – those Germans!). Interesting – at least to me – is that it makes you sun-sensitive. Maybe this is part of how it works. Unfortunately, the herbal remedy tends to interact with other drugs, making them metabolise through the body much too quickly. Not a good idea to combine over-the-counter St. John’s Wort with birth control pills, blood thinners, antivirals or various meds for asthma, epilepsy, depression, migraines, heart problems. It may even interfere with AIDS and cancer treatments.
Ireland has banned it as an over-the-counter remedy, but has released it on a prescription basis. I always wonder whether it’s just more profitable that way or if they really truly want to monitor the interactions with other medications -aren’t I awful?
Anyway, it looks like I won’t be chewing on the leaves. It is a very cheerful sunny plant. The flowers are resilient. I’m hoping it will lift the spirits of the other plants, especially those oaks.