Scrophularia auriculata, the shoreline figwort[1] or water figwort, is a perennial plant of the genus Scrophularia in the family Scrophulariaceae. It is found commonly in Western Europe and North Africa, on the margins of rivers, ponds and similar damp places.[2][3] It is an upright plant reaching 70 cm with blunt oval, crenate leaves in alternate pairs on the greenish–purple square stem, most leaves may have two small lobes at their base. The spikes of flowers are held stiffly on square stems which arise from the main stem in the angle of the leaf stalks. The square stems have a wing running down each corner. These wings are more obvious than on the closely related common figwort (Scrophularia nodosa). The flowers are small, maroon-brownish and globular with two small lips above and below. The five sepals are green with a white margin, broader on the water figwort than the common figwort. The plant flowers from June to September (in the northern hemisphere) after when the flowers produce small spherical to pear-shaped capsules containing a large number of seeds.[2]
| Scrophularia auriculata | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Scrophulariaceae |
| Genus: | Scrophularia |
| Species: | S. auriculata
|
| Binomial name | |
| Scrophularia auriculata | |
The name auriculata derives from the auricles at the base of the leaves.[3]
The water figwort is host to the figwort sawfly whose larvae feed on the leaves.[4]
References
edit- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Scrophularia aurticulata". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
- ^ a b Water Figwort, Wild Flowers of Ireland, retrieved 28 June 2012
- ^ a b Coombes, Allen J (1992). Guide to Plant Names. London: Octopus Illustrated Publishing. p. 179. ISBN 9780600575450.
- ^ Figwort Sawfly, www.naturespot.org.uk, retrieved 28 June 2012