Hypericum aciferum

Hypericum aciferum is a species of flowering plant in the St John's wort family Hypericaceae. It is a small shrub endemic to the Greek island of Crete. H. aciferum grows in a mat on the ground and has twisting branches, needle-like leaves, and long golden petals. Its flowers are also heterostylous, which means that the species can exhibit one of two flower types on different plants. This trait is unique within the genus Hypericum to H. aciferum, H. russeggeri, and H. aegypticum, the three species in section Adenotrias. The species was described by Werner Greuter in 1965 as Elodes acifera, and was later placed into section Adenotrias of the genus Hypericum by Norman Robson in 1984. Hypericum aciferum has an extremely limited distribution in the southwest corner of Crete, and is found in rock crevices. It was assessed as endangered several times in the 1980s and 1990s, due to a small population and threats from grazing and fire. It was protected by the European Environment Agency, and a ......read more on Wikipedia.