The genus ''Scrophularia'' of the family

Scrophulariaceae The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scr ...

comprises about 200 species of herbaceous

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 In botany, phyllotaxis () or phyllotaxy is the arrangement of leaves on a plant stem. Phyllotactic spirals form a distinctive class of patterns in nature. Leaf arrangement The basic arrangements of leaves on a stem are opposite and alterna ...

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. ''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. ...

e of some Lepidoptera 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 (''S. ningpoensis''), have been used by herbal medicine 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, i ...

, 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