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SUMMARY
The acreage of St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum L.), a drug-yielding plant used for its antidepressive properties, considerably increased in Europe over the last few years. In Switzerland, this acreage regularly suffers anthracnose, a disease caused by the Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) fungus. Our tests were designed to compare 21 wild and 3 commercial varieties on 3 sites with distinct soil climates. This article emphasizes a high genotype variation for this species. We were able to select a genotype that is in agronomical terms more satisfactory than the reference variety (Topas). It is dieback tolerant, high-yielding, easy to harvest and should subsequently prove more cost-effective. It blooms early and is thus particularly suitable for growth at high altitude. Finally, its flavonoid and hypericin contents are pharma-ceutically promising. It has also been noted that anthracnose is not so virulent at high altitudes and the soil type has an influence on flower production but does not reduce their secondary metabolite contents.
