North America Non-native Plant

Hypericum Formosum

Botanical name: Hypericum formosum

USDA symbol: HYFO7

Native status: Not native but doesn't reproduce and persist in the wild

Hypericum formosum: A Botanical Mystery Worth Investigating If you’ve stumbled across the name Hypericum formosum in your plant research, you might be scratching your head – and for good reason! This particular botanical name presents quite the puzzle for gardeners and plant enthusiasts alike. The Mystery of Hypericum formosum Here’s ...

Hypericum formosum: A Botanical Mystery Worth Investigating

If you’ve stumbled across the name Hypericum formosum in your plant research, you might be scratching your head – and for good reason! This particular botanical name presents quite the puzzle for gardeners and plant enthusiasts alike.

The Mystery of Hypericum formosum

Here’s the thing about Hypericum formosum: it’s proving to be as elusive as a unicorn in the botanical world. Despite extensive searching through plant databases, native plant guides, and horticultural resources, reliable information about this specific species is remarkably scarce. This could mean a few things:

  • It might be an extremely rare or regionally specific species with limited documentation
  • The name could be outdated or no longer considered valid in current botanical nomenclature
  • There might be some confusion with other Hypericum species that have similar names

What We Do Know About the Hypericum Family

While Hypericum formosum remains mysterious, the Hypericum genus (commonly known as St. John’s worts) includes many wonderful native plants that gardeners absolutely love. These plants are typically known for their bright yellow flowers and their ability to thrive in various growing conditions.

A Word of Caution for Gardeners

Given the uncertainty surrounding Hypericum formosum, we’d recommend taking a proceed with caution approach. If you’ve encountered this name somewhere and are considering adding it to your garden, here’s what you should do:

  • Double-check the plant identification with a local botanist or extension office
  • Verify the source and accuracy of any plant material labeled with this name
  • Consider well-documented native Hypericum alternatives instead

Better Hypericum Alternatives for Your Garden

Rather than chasing botanical ghosts, why not consider some well-established native Hypericum species that will definitely deliver in your garden? Many regions have native St. John’s worts that offer beautiful yellow blooms, attract pollinators, and support local ecosystems without any guesswork involved.

The Bottom Line

Sometimes in the plant world, we encounter names that lead us down fascinating rabbit holes. Hypericum formosum appears to be one of those mysterious cases where the trail goes cold pretty quickly. While we can’t provide specific growing advice for this particular species, we encourage you to explore the many documented native Hypericum options available in your region – they’ll give you all the golden-flowered goodness you’re looking for without the botanical detective work!

If you do happen to have reliable information about Hypericum formosum, we’d love to hear from you. After all, every mystery plant deserves its moment in the sun!

Hypericum Formosum

Classification

Group

Dicot

Kingdom

Plantae - Plants

Subkingdom

Tracheobionta - Vascular plants

Superdivision

Spermatophyta - Seed plants

Division

Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants

Subdivision
Class

Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons

Subclass

Dilleniidae

Order

Theales

Family

Clusiaceae Lindl. - Mangosteen family

Genus

Hypericum L. - St. Johnswort

Species

Hypericum formosum Kunth [excluded]

Plant data source: USDA, NRCS 2025. The PLANTS Database. https://plants.usda.gov,. 2/25/2025. National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC USA