Scrophularia umbrosa, the green figwort,[2][3] is a perennial herbaceous plant found in Europe and Asia.[4] It grows in moist and cultivated waste ground.[3]

Scrophularia umbrosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Genus: Scrophularia
Species:
S. umbrosa
Binomial name
Scrophularia umbrosa
Dumort. (1827)
Synonyms[1]
  • Scrophularia alata Gilib.
  • Scrophularia ehrharti Stevens
  • Scrophularia hurstii Druce
  • Scrophularia towndrowi Druce

The species looks very similar to the closely related Scrophularia auriculata (water figwort). Green figwort has a greener stem than water figwort, and lacks the leaf auricles which give water figwort its Latin name.

The plant is probably poisonous to cows. It is pollinated by bees and wasps. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade, but requires moist or wet soil.[5]

Conservation

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The global conservation status of this species, as of 2013, is least concern.[6] In the United Kingdom it is a very locally distributed species though increasingly abundant.[7]

Folklore

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The plant was thought, by the doctrine of signatures to be able to cure the throat disease scrofula because of the throat-like shape of its flowers.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Flora of Northern Ireland.
  2. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. ^ a b USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Scrophularia umbrosa​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Scrophularia umbrosa". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  5. ^ Plants for Life database
  6. ^ IUCN - Scrophularia umbrosa
  7. ^ Online Atlas of British and Irish Flora - Scrophularia umbrosa
  8. ^ Figwort Archived 2011-06-05 at the Wayback Machine