2. Scrophularia L. (figwort)
Plants perennial
herbs, fibrous-rooted. Stems 1 to several from the base, erect or strongly
ascending, unbranched or few-branched, strongly 4-angled, glabrous or
moderately pubescent with minute, mostly glandular hairs, at least toward the
tip. Leaves opposite, short- to long-petiolate. Stipules absent (note that
short, leafy axillary branches are frequently produced). Leaf blades lanceolate
to ovate, variously tapered or angled to rounded, truncate, or shallowly
cordate at the base, angled or tapered to a sharply pointed tip, the margins
sharply toothed, the upper surface glabrous or sparsely and minutely hairy
along the main veins or toward the base, the undersurface sparsely to
moderately and minutely hairy, the venation pinnate, but the lowermost pair of
lateral veins sometimes slightly more prominent than the others. Inflorescences
terminal, elongate panicles of usually numerous flowers, the lowermost branches
usually with pairs of bracts resembling reduced leaves, the flowers mostly
long-stalked, the stalk with a pair of minute, linear bractlets at the base,
the axes, flower stalks, and bractlets usually with dark, stalked glands.
Calyces actinomorphic, 5-lobed to about the midpoint, the lobes ovate to
broadly ovate, with irregular margins. Corollas bilabiate, reddish brown or
partially yellowish green, the tube urn-shaped to broadly urn-shaped, the upper
lip more or less straight, about as long as to slightly longer than the lower
lip, notched at the tip, the lower lip strongly 3-lobed, the lateral lobes
broadly ovate to nearly circular, more or less straight, the central lobe,
triangular-ovate, strongly reflexed. Stamens 4, not exserted, the free portions
of the filaments short, the anthers appearing 1-celled, yellow. Staminode 1,
well differentiated, consisting of a filament with a flattened, expanded tip,
oriented under the upper lip. Ovary broadly ovoid to nearly globose, 2-locular.
Style usually longer than the ovary, usually slightly exserted, the stigma 1,
unlobed, capitate. Fruits with the body ovoid to broadly ovoid or nearly
globose, broadly angled to tapered to a beaked tip. Seeds 0.6–0.9 mm long,
oblong-ellipsoid, turgid, unwinged, the surface with a network of ridges, dark
brown. About 200 species, North America, South America, Caribbean Islands,
Europe, Asia, Africa.