How do you recognise Aaron's beard (Hypericum calycinum)?

Leaf

Liliane Roubaudi, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0

Aaron's beard

Hypericum calycinum L.

Also known as: Creeping St John's wort

Family: Hypericaceae

0.3 to 0.6 m tall

Ground cover, banks, light woodland, all soils

Flowering: June – September

Full sun

Part shade

Shade

Hardy to -20°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Its low, suckering habit makes it an excellent ground cover for smothering weeds. Aaron's beard is a low subshrub forming a carpet, with large bright yellow flowers and very numerous stamens, whereas perforate St John's wort is a perennial with leaves dotted with tiny translucent spots visible against the light.

🍃 Leaves

Evergreen or semi-evergreen, ovate, bright green

🌸 Flowers

Large golden-yellow flowers with numerous stamens in a tuft

🍎 Fruits

Small brown capsules

🪵 Bark

Low suckering stems, carpeting habit

🗺️ Distribution

South-eastern Europe, Asia Minor; widely grown in France as ground cover, sometimes self-seeding.

🐝 Value for pollinators

Large yellow flowers with very numerous stamens, rich in pollen, much visited by bees and bumblebees in summer.

✂️ Horticultural uses

Planted as ground cover for banks and light woodland, tolerates drought and partial shade.

⚠️ Possible toxicity

No notable known toxicity in humans; may cause photosensitisation in animals that eat large quantities.

⚠️ Look-alike species

Aaron's beard

Hypericum calycinum

Common St John's wort

Hypericum perforatum

Aaron's beard is a low subshrub forming a carpet, with large bright yellow flowers and very numerous stamens, whereas perforate St John's wort is a perennial with leaves dotted with tiny translucent spots visible against the light.

🌿 Other Hypericaceae to discover

Common St John's wort

Hypericum perforatum

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.