Scrophularia
Scrophularia nodosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Tribe: Scrophularieae
Genus: Scrophularia
L.
Species

289, see List

Synonyms
List
  • Ceramanthe (Rchb.) Dumort.
  • Mosheovia Eig
  • Oreosolen Hook.f.
  • Scrophucephalus A.P.Khokhr.
  • Tomiephyllum Fourr.
  • Tuerckheimocharis Urb.
  • Venilia Fourr.

The genus Scrophularia of the family Scrophulariaceae comprises about 200 species of herbaceous flowering plants commonly known as figworts. Species of Scrophularia all share square stems, opposite leaves and open two-lipped flowers forming clusters at the end of their stems. The genus is found throughout the Northern Hemisphere.

Scrophularia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Phymatopus hectoides.

Some species in this genus are known to contain potentially useful substances, such as iridoids, and several Scrophularia species, such as the Ningpo figwort (S. ningpoensis), have been used by herbal medicine practitioners around the world. The name Scrophularia comes from scrofula, a form of tuberculosis, because several species have been used in herbal medicine for this disease.[1][2]

Selected species

Common figwort (Scrophularia nodosa)
Green figwort (Scrophularia umbrosa).

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scrophularia.
  1. ↑ Culpeper, Nicholas (1998). Culpeper's complete herbal: a book of natural remedies for ancient ills. Wordsworth reference series. Ware: Wordsworth Editions. ISBN 978-1-85326-345-3.
  2. ↑ Garran, Thomas Avery (2008-01-22). Western Herbs according to Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Practitioner's Guide. Healing Arts Press. ISBN 9781594771910.
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