This plant is tinctorial. Yellow pigment that exists in its flowers is water-soluble, while red pigment that exists in stigmas and fruits is soluble in alcohol. Dioskourides mentions it as «askyron». In Kythera, people prepare a medicine for the healing of burns and wounds by mixing olive oil with St John’s wort flowers.
Scientific Name:
Hypericum perforatum
Family:
Hypericaceae
Kythera Name:
Valsamo, Votani tou Ai Yianni
Name in other places of Greece:
Spathochorto(Epirus region), Valsamo(Arcadia region), Valsamochorto, Chelonochorto(Cefalonia), Lihinochorto, Valsamaki, Periki, Votani tou Ai Yianni tou Prodromou
Collection:
Tops with flowers and fruits and the whole plant are collected all through summer. It is found in wild fields with a lot of sunshine. It can be planted out to gardens as well.
Properties:
Mycolytic, emmenagogue, diuretic, anticonvulsant, sedative, tonic, digestive, antiseptic, antipyretic, painkilling. It treats stomach ulcers and heals internal and external wounds. It fights bowel parasites.
