The genus ''Scrophularia'' of the family Scrophulariaceae comprises about 200 species of

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s commonly known as figworts. Species of ''Scrophularia'' all share square stems, opposite leaves and open two-lipped

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s forming clusters at the end of their stems. The genus is found throughout the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

. ''Scrophularia'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species including ''

Phymatopus hectoides ''Phymatopus hectoides'' is a species of moth belonging to the family Hepialidae. It was described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1868, and is known from the western United States, including California, Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. The wingspan is ...

''. Some species in this genus are known to contain potentially useful substances, such as

iridoid Iridoids are a type of monoterpenoids in the general form of cyclopentanopyran, found in a wide variety of plants and some animals. They are biosynthetically derived from 8-oxogeranial. Iridoids are typically found in plants as glycosides, mos ...

s, and several ''Scrophularia'' species, such as the

Ningpo figwort ''Scrophularia ningpoensis'', commonly known as the Ningpo figwort or Chinese figwort, is a perennial plant of the family Scrophulariaceae (the figwort family). It reaches 1 m by 0.4 m. Its flowers are hermaphrodite, insect- pollinated and the ...

(''S. ningpoensis''), have been used by

herbal medicine Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...

practitioners around the world. The name ''Scrophularia'' comes from scrofula, a form of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, because several species have been used in herbal medicine for this disease.Culpeper, Nicholas. Culpeper's complete herbal: a book of natural remedies for ancient ills. Wordsworth Editions, 1995.Garran, Thomas Avery. Western Herbs According to Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Practitioner's Guide. Inner Traditions/Bear & Co, 2008.

Selected species

References

{{Authority control Scrophulariaceae genera