St. John’s Wort

Wort is a name often given to a healing plant. Since ancient times, St. John’s wort has been used as an herbal treatment for a variety of medical problems including externally for wounds, inflammations, burns, skin disorders, and nerve pain, and internally for anxiety, depression, and insomnia. The flowers were also gathered and displayed to ward off evil spirits – typically blooming around the birthday of St. John the Baptist (June 24), hence this plants name. The ‘Topas’ variety contains a higher concentration of the active medicinal ingredient hypericin.