I'm looking for plants and seeds of the yellow-leaved variety of St. John's wort, also called aaron 's beard. I have Plants elephant ears Spiderwort Z. blue and grape lemon balm (warning this is best as a pot plant it can be invasive) rose of sharon, bluebird Anemone sylvestris (snowdrop anemone) Also in the early spring only I can offer aconitum napellus monkshood Bleeding heart Seeds Columbine (mixed) Milkweed soulmate Milkweed ice ballet

Wishing to say something that may help all to understand proper usage of St. John's Wort within the realm of our modern world with its medicines, I point you all to a helpful website that discusses the Cytochrome p450 pathways. These are metabolic enzyme pathways, mostly in the liver, that our bodies utilize to "tag" molecules for elimination by the kidneys and also sometimes cause slower clearance of other molecules. So we talk about inducers and inhibitors as well as metabolism. Some of these substances, whether drugs, herbs, or even foods, affect other substances that come into our bodies by making them stronger or weaker in effect. For example, if a drug like paclitaxel, which is metabolized in CYP3A4 pathway is taken with St. John's Wort, a CYP3A4 inducer, the metabolism is speeded up and the drug clears from the body faster, making it less effective in killing cancer cells. The "side effects" may seem weaker because the effect of the drug is weaker. On the other hand, a form of Ginseng with a high concentration of ginsenoside Rh2, may act as a CYP3A4 inhibitor, making the metabolism of the paclitaxel slower, increasing thereby the effect of the drug. This also could cause a more noticeable "side effect." This is shown in cell culture studies that combined paclitaxel with Rh2. There may be other reasons why the IC50 increased (a measure of effectiveness in killing cancer cells in culture), but this is one of them. While we do have good data available from our pharmacies about cytochrome p450 pathways, the practitioners do not always have time to look things up. Recently, at an all-night pharmacy, I asked about a prescription I was picking up for a family member. That family member was considering taking either SJW or an SSRI, so I wanted to know about the reaction with cytochrome p450 and the new drug. The answer I got was curteous, but what was actually done was for the pharmacist to hand me the notes from the drug company that come in the package that the pharmacist uses to fill our bottles. I hesitate to think that most people might not ask about it and others who do may not know what the drug company's paper says. Of course, I want to be fair with the pharmacy. It was late at night. Maybe they take more time during the day. The website referenced below even mentions grapefruit juice and its effect. So be careful out there in your morning juice selection if you take drugs. I hope that my post helps with out marshalling the opposing sides too much. We all need to try to educate ourselves about the herbs and drugs that we take. I look forward to the day when the drug companies list the potential negative effects that their drugs may have on the herbs that I take. But I won't lose sleep waiting. Richard Here is a link that might be useful: Cytochrome p450 site

First, make sure you're growing hypericum perforatum -- it's the upright st. johnswort, not the creeping one. Around here, (zone 6), it grows on every roadside in the summer. Called St. Johnswort because it begins to flower on St. Johns Day near the summer solstice, it can be easily distinguished from its garden cousins by holding a leaf up & getting out your bifocals. The edges of the leaves will be dotted with the oil glands. Pinching them will leave a dark red stain on your fingertips. The oil is most concentrated in the bright yellow flowers-- the oil glands are very easy to see on the edges-- pick & pinch if you're not sure you've got the right one. The flowers should be picked daily after the dew has dried but before mid-day-- the reason for this is practical-- the flowers last only one day & the oil evaporates by mid-afternoon. To make a pain-relieving oil, drop the flowers as you pick them (they must be dew free!) into olive oil & cover. Make sure to leave plenty on the plant to reseed. Set the covered oil in a sunny windowsill until it's time to pick tomorrow. Do this every day for 2 weeks, then let the oil sit for another week, strain out the flowers & start again with the same oil. It will turn a beautiful-- absolutely gorgeous-- dark red. The oil can be rubbed on as is or made into salves. It can also be incorporated into foods, but the tincture works better for this. To make a tincture, drop the flowers into vodka, brandy, wine or vinegar instead (your choice), put in a DARK cupboard between pickings & strain WHEN THE FLOWERS HAVE LOST THEIR COLOR (about a week), then restart with the same alcohol. One St. J will grow 2-3' in zone 6 but spread only half that size. Like I said, it is a roadside weed up here, so it doesn't take much to keep it happy. I grow mine with a variety of shrubs & flowers because that's where it decided to prosper. While they are considered perennial, we get a lot of winter-kill up here, but they reseed easily & I just look around last year's plant sites for newbies in the spring. I can do 1/2 gal of oil & about the same of tincture off of two plants with diligent daily picking & still have plenty of seeds for new plants next year. Hope this helps.

I have this PLANT. I HAVE COLLECTED SEEDS IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.maybe we can swap