it is a highly conservative species, growing almost exclusively in undisturbed, remnant natural areas, primarily "high-watertable sand flats" and acidic wet to wet-mesic sand prairies. The variety H. canadense var. magninsulare prefers wet soils in pastures or swamps. In Ireland, the herb occurs in wet soils of pH between 4 and 5, with rich organic matter. The plant requires base-poor and peaty soils to occur in Ireland. Grazing by cattle likely reduces competition and provides open ground for establishment of the herb. Hypericum canadense and Hypericum majus overlap in most of their Canadian distribution. H. canadense is more eastern, occurring in the Maritimes towards Lake Superior. H. majus is rare in the Maritimes but occurs as far west as British Columbia. In the Maritimes H. canadense is restricted to mostly Paleozoic formations and in Ontario it prefers Precambrian formations. H. majus occurs in a broader range of habitats. References canadense Flora of North America Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus