Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

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Hypericum androsaemum

Common name

Tutsan, Sweet-ambor

Family

Hypericaceae

Where found

Forest, woodland, pastures, disturbed areas, roadsides, and along streams, often in damp places. Blue Mountains west to north of Crookwell. Kosciuszko National Park. Doubtfully naturalised in the ACT.

Notes

Introduced shrub or perennial herb arising from a woody crown at the base of the plant each year, to 1.5 m high or more. Stems indistinctly 2-ridged or slightly winged. Crushed leaves give a distinct curry smell. Leaves opposite each other, 3.5–15 cm long, 30–80 mm wide, hairless, bright green, lower surface sometimes greyish, bases cordate, leaves stalkless or stem-clasping. Leaves often reddish in autumn. Flowers yellow to orange, 15–30 mm in diameter, with 5 petals. Greenish sepals almost the same size as the petals. Flowers in clusters of 2–15 flowers. Flowering: spring-summer. Fruit fleshy, occasionally slightly fleshy, initially green, turning red, then purple to black as they mature, globular, 7-12 mm in diameter.

Family was Clusiaceae.

General Biosecurity Duty all NSW. General Biosecurity Duty with additional restrictions in the Central Tablelands area, NSW. Noxious weed Vic.

PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Hypericum~androsaemum (accessed 19 January, 2021)