Kingdom Plantae Family Scrophulariaceae Scientific name Scrophularia umbrosa Rank Species | Order Lamiales Genus Scrophularia Higher classification Scrophularia | |
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Similar Figwort, Common Skullcap, Pitseed Goosefoot, Wild Angelica, Hedge Mustard | ||
Scrophularia umbrosa, the green figwort, water betony, or water figwort, is a perennial herbaceous plant found in temperate regions of the Northern hemisphere except western North America. Synonyms are Scrophularia alata Gilib.; Scrophularia ehrharti Stevens; Scrophularia hurstii Druce; Scrophularia towndrowi Druce. It grows in moist and cultivated waste ground.
The plant is probably poisonous to cows, pollinated by bees and wasps. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade, but requires moist or wet soil.
Folklore
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.
References
Scrophularia umbrosa Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA