[Hypericum poisoning in sheep]

A report about a case of St. John's wort poisoning in German Blackface sheep is given. After the ingestion of St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) all slightly pigmented parts of the skin, that were rarely covered with hair, were photosensitized. In summer many sheep suffered from inflammatory skin alterations at the ears, the bridge of the nose and at the surroundings of the eyes. A literature review informs about etiology and treatment of photosensitivity disease and the St. John's wort is exactly described to facilitate recognition.