XVI International Botanical Congess

St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) is currently receiving much attention in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom as an alternative herbal medication for mild to moderate depression. Hypericum's physical properties have lent it to utilization as a phytomedicine from the time of early Greek medical texts through the ages of herbals and pharmacopeias and on into the present. I reviewed the physical properties of this herb as well as its history to see how and why its use has evolved over time.Key words: Hypericum perforatum L., St. John's Wort, phytomedicine folklore, ethnobotany