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Scrophularia nodosa L.

Knotted figwort (en), Scrophulaire noueuse (fr), Scrofulaire noueuse (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Lamiales > Scrophulariaceae > Scrophularia

Characteristics

Perennial herb typically with nodular roots, glabrous except for infl.; stems to c. 60 cm tall, angled. Petioles to 4 cm long. Lamina to 10 × 6 cm, ovate or triangular-ovate, irregularly serrate; base broadly subcordate or cordate, sometimes with lamina shortly attenuate on petiole; apex sharply acute. Cymes in panicles in the axils of mostly linear bracts, shortly glandular-hairy; rachis angled. Pedicels often several × > fls. Calyx 2-3 mm long; lobes broad-ovate; margins narrow-scarious, entire, or erose towards apex. Corolla 7-11 mm long, greenish with dark reddish brown, erect upper lip with rounded lobes. Staminode much wider than long; apex truncate to retuse. Capsule c. 6 mm long, broad-ovoid. Seed not seen.
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A herb that keeps growing from year to year. It has underground stems or rhizomes that are fattened like tubers. It grows 40 cm-1.2 m high. It spreads 15-40 cm wide. The stem is erect and square and has few branches. The leaves are opposite, oval and pointed. There are teeth around the edge. The flowers are purple and white. They are round and in panicles at the ends of the branches. The fruit are oval capsules.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination entomogamy
Spread barochory
Mature width (meter) 0.15 - 0.4
Mature height (meter) 1.0
Root system rhizome
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Damp ground in woods, hedgebanks, by streams etc. Coniferous and mixed forests, among shrubs, in mixed-fodder grasslands and in damp and dry valleys; also on mountains; at elevations up to 2,200 metres
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It is a temperate plant. It does best in moist, well-drained soil. It needs a protected, shady position. It is resistant to frost but sensitive to drought.
Light 4-9
Soil humidity 4-6
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity 3-8
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 6-8

Usage

The bitter element is removed and then the starch of the root is extracted to extend flour for bread.
Uses medicinal poison
Edible roots
Therapeutic use Anodyne (unspecified), Cancer (unspecified), Carcinoma (unspecified), Depurative (unspecified), Diuretic (unspecified), Poison (unspecified), Skin (unspecified), Wound (unspecified), Condyloma (unspecified), Eczema (unspecified), Inflammation (unspecified), Narcotic (unspecified), Vulnerary (unspecified), Abscess (unspecified), Scrofula (unspecified), Tumor (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seed.
Mode divisions seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) 5
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Scrophularia nodosa habit picture by Christophe Maheu (cc-by-sa)
Scrophularia nodosa habit picture by Massimo D'Angelo (cc-by-sa)
Scrophularia nodosa habit picture by Re He (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Scrophularia nodosa leaf picture by Maxime VINCENT (cc-by-sa)
Scrophularia nodosa leaf picture by светлана светлана (cc-by-sa)
Scrophularia nodosa leaf picture by Patrick Nard (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Scrophularia nodosa flower picture by Kabilan Nadarajah (cc-by-sa)
Scrophularia nodosa flower picture by Rob van Kessel (cc-by-sa)
Scrophularia nodosa flower picture by lena yentur (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Scrophularia nodosa fruit picture by Pim Blaauboer (cc-by-sa)
Scrophularia nodosa fruit picture by Françoise Peyrissat (cc-by-sa)
Scrophularia nodosa fruit picture by Bernadette Gaspardel (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Scrophularia nodosa world distribution map, present in Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Canada, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Georgia, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, United States of America, and South Africa

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30088899-2
WFO ID wfo-0000496317
COL ID 6XYQ3
BDTFX ID 62018
INPN ID 122028
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Scrophularia cechica Scrophularia hemschinica Scrophularia major Scrophularia nodosa Scrophularia italica Scrophularia sckellii Scrophularia capitata Scrophularia wirtgenii Scrophularia ternata
WorldFloraDB 2024