DISTRIBUTION:
Occurs in a wide variety of habitats, most commonly in stony areas or open grassland. Also near water, in marshy or damp places, between rocks as well as on old lands.
BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION:
Hypericum aethiopicum
General: A herb, 20 - 50 cm high with a perennial woody underground root system and annual, mostly unbranched, gland-dotted stems.
Leaves: Small, ovate, stalkless, in opposite pairs. Usually dotted with small dark glands.
Flowers: Yellow, with reddish-brown sepals, near the tips of the stems. September - March.
Fruit: A 3-chambered papery capsule, containing many fine seeds.
TOXIC PRINCIPLE:
Photodynamic agent: hypericin. Hypericin is a red-fluorescent pigment contained especially in glands (black dots) in the leaves, stems and petals.
SYNDROMES:
Primary photosensitivity.
SYSTEMS AFFECTED:
Liver.
CLINICAL SIGNS:
All animal species are affected when the plants are eaten. Horses are especially sensitive. Poisoning is rare, however. Photodermatitis without icterus.
TREATMENT:
Keep in shade. Symptomatic treatment of the skin. Antihistamines. Corticosteroids.
