Episode 60: Beheading Blooms & Holy Happy Happenings- St. John Wort

May 29

Hello and welcome to another week of Rooted! This month is mental health awareness month, and to celebrate we’ll be connecting with St. JOhns wart- a plant known for helping to keep our brains balanced! Before we dig into the episode, I want to make it really clear that I am not a medical professional, and nothing I tell you on this show should EVER be taken as medical advice. I am but a lady enamored with the power of plants, sharing more about what I learn with all of you for entertainment. While I do discuss the ways plants can be used in similar ways to medications some folx may be taking, these are not things you should try without advice from your own medical care team. And as an extra reminder, our brains are all super unique- so what works for yours might not work for someone else's, which is a weird and wonderful thing.

And with that, we can dig into the episode!

St. Johns wort, also known as Hypericum perforatum is part of a family we actually haven’t taled about yet on the show- the Hypericaceae

Family. St. JOhn’s wort is the best known member of the family, but some defining characteristics are:

Herbaceous shrubs or subshrubs with simple, complete, and opposite leaves- which means the leaves are the super basic leaf shape you think of, and they ALWAYS grow so that they both come from the same node on opposite sides of the branch, so they always have a pal!

That doesnt make them very easy to identify, but their flowers and some other interesting bits REALLY do! Most plants in this family have flowers made up of 4-5 septals (the things that look liek petals but stick around) and 4-5 petals with the actual inflorece being in the center of that with a bunch of tiny little spikes that form a flat top. Most of them are yellow, but sometimes they are white! Other than that, their petals can sometimes develop black spots over time, and they eventually form into a big seed pod called a dehiscent capsule….in non botany terms, that just means the pod is designed to split open at a specific weak spot, so that when the time is right they can unleash a million tiny seeds (and presumably at least a little hell).

Another kind of weird thing about the plants in this family is that they develop red or black and sometimes clear glands on their leaves that release a photosensitive chemical that can cause blisters and other icky side effets when sunlight hits it- presumably as a kind of defense against gallavanting cattle and other big critters who might much on the leaves and stems of this guy, since they typically don’t develop any kind of woody bits..

St. JOhns wort is actually the family member that shows the trait most distinctly, so we’ll get into that one in a bit more later.

St Johns wort looks exactly like the rest of it’s family, and can be found growing pretty much anywhere now. It is actually a hybrid from H. attenuatum and H. maculatum, and was first found growing in siberia. It’s best known for the distinct black glands that outline each petal of the flower at maturity.

They aren’t too picky, but really thrive big open areas with disturbed soil, and once they creep in, they waste little to no time making themselves at home- choking out native plants and replacing viable forage for livestock, which is why you probably wont find this guy at your local nursery.

While St.Johns Wort is considered a noxious weed in most places, it has also played an important role in history and medicine for a VERY long time- probably even longer than we have even had terms like noxious weed.

To start, we’ll take things back to old timey england when christianity was really becoming all the rage so we can talk about just how exactly St. Johns wart got it’s name

As you likely guessed, the weed is named for saint john, the guy who wrote a bunch of the books in the bible, OG follower of christ, and famously beheaded…honestly a kind of mixed bag of stuff to be known for.

But, the plant is spficifally named for him in part for all the good it can do, and in part because of some of the freaking timing coincidences.

For example, St. John’s wort happens to start blooming each year right around his birthday- June 24, and it starts to develop those red glads we talked about earlier right around the date of his beheading in august…a little icky, but certainly a weird coincidence.

But christians of england weren’t the only people really into this stuff! In face, the ancient greeks were the first to really report using and loving this stuff for issues ranging from period woes to serious and persistent depression- both of which are common uses for it today!

While I didn’t find any delightful folklore to share with you this week, there are plenty of wild stories to tell about this one!

For starters, st. Johns wort is often said to be a strong spiritually protective ally- strong enough to not just repel demons, but to literally cast them out of this realm. It is because of that power, that at one point satan tried to rip them apart….but he was no match for the plant, so he only managed to leave behind tiny holes in the leaves (the glands we talked about earlier)

In addition, it was used in witchcraft to bring healing, protection, and abundance- blooming just in time for the summer solstice and being closely tied to the green man- the deity representing the masculine side of nature in practices that center duality.

In an old german wives tale, it was said that girls who plucked a bloom on st johns eve and hid it under their pillows. If they woke in the morning to find the flower in perfect condition, they would be lucky in love that year. However, if it was wilted or oozy, they would have to wait until they were ready. The red oils the leaves can leak was sometimes referred to as witches blood, and reportedly was used in several variations of love spells to get your suitor on your side.

In a similar vein, it was also believed that if you did this same thing, but prayed to st. John, he would visit you and bless you with another year of health and happiness.

This is fitting when we consider that the greeks names this plant after Hippocrates, who they considered to be the founder of medicine, and who’s initial recorded findings have helped us a great deal in understanding how nature can help us to heal.

Some of the ways that St. Johns wort has historically been used includes:

Topically as a salve or dressing to treat wounds, bites, burns, scrapes, all all those other painful or itchy things that can happen to our skin

As a tea or tincture to treat menstrual cramps, pregnancy ailments, and mood disorders like SAD, depression, and “social aliments” which today we call anxiety.

The reason it was regarded as a bit of a cure all is because st johns wort contains strong antibacterial, antioxidant, antiinflammatory and antiviral properties.

There are all kinds of interesting chemical things happening here that we could deep dive in, but because this podcast strives to be a 15 min or less show and not a weeks long documentary, I’m going to keep it focused on how its helping out brains, since that’s what it’s best known for.

Scientists still arent entirely sure WHY st. Johns wort is so effective at treating depression and other mental illnesses, but we THINK it’s because it contains hypericin, hyperforin, and flavonoids. Which might allow it to have an effect similar to SSRI, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors which effectively increase the availability of the brain chemicals serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine by preventing the brain from reabsorbing them… kind of like when you haven’t organized so it seems like you have WAY too much stuff, but then when you put things away suddenly it seems like your a minimalist…ssris are there to help remind your brain that minimalism isn't everything, and sometimes a little extra joy on display is just what it needs.

While there have been like a bajillion studies suggesting just as many different truths, some saying st. Johns wort does not work at all, others saying it works just as well, but only for about 12 weeks, and even one that found zoloft didn’t treat depression, one thing researchers DO agree on is that is CAN help some folx, but that it’s not something everyone should be taking, especially if someone is battling really severe depression that might need a more immediate shift in brain chemistry.

While st johns wort can do a lot of good, it does come with a slew of potential side effects to be aware of . for starters, those on birthcontrol, heart medication, and blood thinners should steer clear, as st. johns wort can block the absorbtion of these medications.

In addition, anyone currently taking an ssri or other antidepressant shouldn’t ingest it, as too much can lead to complications, and decrease the effectiveness of those drugs as the brain adjusts.

In addition, while it used to be applied topically, today that seems to not be suggested as it can increase sensitivity to sunlight, and has been known to be a bit harsh for sensitive skin.

This is particularly relevant for using the leaves externally, as like I mentioned earlier- that red substance it leaves on your skin when you crush it is actually called naphthodianthrone pigment, and it contains hypericin or pseudohypericin, or sometimes both, and they, much like the chemicals found in citrus, can leave a gnarly burn and blistering on the skin when exposed to sunlight- making that light scrape something much more painful.

While st. Johns wort has certainly proven to be a powerful ally for as long as we can really recall, it’s a plant best leveraged in moderation and foraged for whenever possible!

That’s all i’ve got next week, but I’ll be back with another famous herbal ally to dig into next week. See you then!

https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/st-johns-wort

https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-st-johns-wort/art-20362212

https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/herb/st-johns-wort

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypericaceae

https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/terrestrial/plants/st-johnswort

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/st-johns-wort

https://yourehistory.wordpress.com/2016/06/26/folklore-in-my-garden-st-johns-wort/

https://www.rowanandsage.com/blog/2021/8/20/st-johns-wort-historic-healer-of-wounds