creeping St John's wort
Creeping St John's wort is little ground-covering shrub with bright and large yellow flowers. These flowers can be seen during the whole summertime. They attract large amoounts of bees. This is an strong shrub that can be damaged by winter frost, but allways survives in the spring. Creeping St johns wort is very useful as a ground cover, it will grow in shadow or sun, it grows on poor grounds and will cover a hill in a short time.
pruning of creeping St John's wort
If you prune this small shrub every year the large star shape flowers will return every year.
Creeping St John's wort and rust
If the ground is wet , creeping St johns wort can be infested with rust. Rust gives small brown spots on the leaves. Remove your shrub as a way of sanitation.
Creeping St John's wort or Aaron’s beard in fall.
Creeping St John's wort as an antidepressant
Just like St Johns wort, creeping St Johns wort is capable of producing the medicinally active components hyperforin but with adhyperforin predominating. But it also produces a low level of hyperforin as well.
hyperforin as an antidepressant
Hyperforin is a substance with important antidepressant and anxiolytic properties. It can be found in extracts of both St. John's wort and creeping St John's wort. Hyperforine inhibits the reuptake of the important psychiatric neurotransmitters, like serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, and GABA and glutamate. It also induce the cytochroom P450 enzyms, (CYP3A4 and CYP2C9).
These drug-metabolizing enzyms induction results in the increased metabolism of ,any important drugs, leading to decreased plasma concentrations of those drugs. Interrestingly, hyperforine inhibits the growth of the MRSA bactery, the notorious methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
Hyperforin is a useful addition in psychiatric medication, but has also many side effects, which makes it less useful.
Adhyperforine is also an inhibitor of serotonin, norepinephrin, dopamine, GABA, and glutamate. It is less strong and less useful as hyperperforin, and is more dominant in the extracts of creeping St john's wort.
An illustration of Ann Pratt.
1 Square-stalked St John's-wort or Hypericum tetrapterum
2 Tutsan or Hypericum androsaemum
3 Great St-John's wort, and Jerusalem star, Rose of Sharon or hypericum calycicum