St. John's Wort is supposed to "bleed" on John the Baptist's saint's day?

Question

I've read this a couple of places, mainly reputable herb books. But then I finally find some St. John's Wort and look up the saint's day (mid-June) and it doesn't bleed. It doesn't even have red sap or leaves that turn red when dying. What's up with this?

Answer 1

The small yellow flowers, the buds and to a certain extent the leaves of this plant contain red pigments. In an oil maceration, or a tincture in vodka, these pigments dissolve and turn the herbal preparation a bright cherry red. It's an appealing characteristic.

St. John the Baptist's day is June 24. The plant flowers around this time, earlier or later depending on how far south or north you live. In northeastern USA, Vermont or upper New York state, flowering would begin the last week of June.

Are you sure you have the right plant? Hold one of its small leaves up to the sunlight next summer. The leaf should have many extremely tiny perforations. If no perforations, it's not the right plant. The Latin name for St. John's wort is hypericum perforatum, there are other related hypericums but their leaves are not perforated.

Several other plants are also known as St. John's weed. For example artemisia vulgaris is called "l'herbe de St-Jean" in France and it's traditionally tossed into the bonfires held on the eve of June 24th.

The original medicinal use of hypericum perforatum, the plant we usually call St. John's wort, was as a wound healer. Today, herbalists make a wonderful skin cream from the macerated oil, whose cherry red color turns the cream a beautiful pale pink as the cream preparation gets whipped up. It's excellent for small burns, rough "gardening hands" and dry skin in the wintertime.

Answer 2

Now that you have an explanation of the "bleeding" you may also be interested in this additional lore:

In Scandinavia, where Midsummer (St. John's Eve) brings about 20 hours of daylight, people build bonfires and hang bunches of St. John's wort around their homes. This tradition originated when it was thought that these methods would protect people from the witches and evil spirits that were out to do them harm.

Answer 3

Its yellow petals "bleed" when crushed around a June 24th. The juice of the petals turns red. That's what it's all about. It's more of a seasonal thing than anything. See the links.