Figwort

Scientific Names

• Scrophularia nodosa L.
• Scrophularia scorodonia
• Scrophulariaceae
• Figwort family

Common Names

• Carpenter’s square
• Figwort root
• Heal-all
• Kernelwort
• Knotty-rooted figwort
• Rosenoble
• Scrofula plant
• Throatwort

Back to Top

---

Parts Usually Used

Entire plant
Back to Top

---

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Figwort is a perennial plant that grows 2-4 feet high; the knobby rootstock is brown outside, whitish and fibrous inside. The erect, quadrangular, glabrous stem bears opposite, ovate to lanceolate, serrate leaves with an offensive odor. (Foliage is variegated green and creamy yellow on the S. n. variegata variety). Small globular, dark purple flowers appear in terminal panicles from June to October. Full sun or partial shade; zones 6-9. The plant is disease-free. It goes dormant in the fall; will seed itself so freely it can become a weed.

Other varieties: also called figwort (Scrophularia marilandica); the Chinese figwort (S. oldhami) is called Hsuau-shen.
Back to Top

---

Where Found

Found in rich, damp woodlands, wastelands, and thickets from Maine to Georgia and Tennessee, and west to South Dakota and Kansas. Native to Europe and temperate Asia.
Back to Top

---

Medicinal Properties

Diuretic, exanthematous, anodyne, depurative

Back to Top

---

Biochemical Information

Scrophularia nodosa: Stereoptene, propionic and acetic acid

Biological activities (Scrophularia scorodonia)

ABeta-Inhibitor	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
ACE-Inhibitor	Syringin found in Stem
Adaptogenic	Syringin found in Stem
Adenylate-Cyclase-Inhibitor	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Aldose-Reductase-Inhibitor	Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
Analgesic	Harpagide found in Plant Harpagoside found in Flower, Leaf, Plant, Stem Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
AntiHIV	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antiaggregant	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antiallergic	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antialzheimeran	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antianaphylactic	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antiarrhythmic	Harpagoside found in Flower, Leaf, Plant, Stem
Antiarthritic	Harpagide found in Plant
Antiatherosclerotic	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antibacterial	Aucubin found in Plant Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
Anticoagulant	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Anticomplementary	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant Syringin found in Stem
Antidepressant	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antiedemic	Aucubin found in Plant Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antifeedant	Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
Antigonadotropic	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antihemolytic	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antihepatotoxic	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
Antiherpetic	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antihypertensive	Verbascoside found in Flower ;found in Leaf ;found in Stem
Antihyperthyroid	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antiinflammatory	8-acetylharpagide found in Plant Aucubin found in Plant Bartsioside found in Leaf, Plant Harpagide found in Plant Harpagoside found in Flower, Leaf, Plant, Stem Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
Antiintegrase	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antileukemic	Aucubin found in Plant Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
Antileukotriene	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antilipoperoxidant	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antimutagenic	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antinephritic	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antioxidant	Aucubin found in Plant Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
Antiplaque	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antiprolactin	Aucubin found in Plant
Antiproliferant	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antiprostaglandin	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antiproteolytic	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antipulmonotic	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antipyretic	Syringin found in Stem
Antiradicular	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antiseptic	Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
Antishock	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antistaph	Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
Antistaphylococcic	Aucubin found in Plant
Antistress	Syringin found in Stem
Antithyreotropic	Syringin found in Stem Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antithyroid	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antitumor	Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
Antiuremic	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Antiviral	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Anxiolytic	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Apoptotic	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant COX-1-Inhibitor Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant COX-2-Inhibitor Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Calcium-Antagonist	Harpagide found in Plant Harpagoside found in Flower, Leaf, Plant, Stem Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Cancer-Preventive	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Candidicide	Aucubin found in Plant
Cathartic	Aucubin found in Plant
Collagenic	Aucubin found in Plant
Cytotoxic	8-o-acetylharpagide found in Leaf, Plant Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
Deiodinase-Inhibitor	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Diuretic	Aucubin found in Plant
Fungicide	Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
Hepatoprotective	Aucubin found in Plant
Hypertensive	Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
Immunomodulator	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant Syringin found in Stem
Immunostimulant	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant Syringin found in Stem
Immunosuppressant	Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
Lactagogue	Aucubin found in Plant
Laxative	Aucubin found in Plant Lipoxygenase-Inhibitor Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
Neuroprotective	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Neurotropic	Syringin found in Stem
PKC-Inhibitor	Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
Paralytic	Aucubin found in Plant
Pesticide	Aucubin found in Plant Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
Phytoalexin	Verbascoside found in Flower, Leaf, Stem
RNA-Inhibitor	Aucubin found in Plant
Radioprotective	Rosmarinic-acid found in Plant
Tonic	Syringin found in Stem
Uricosuric	Aucubin found in Plant

Back to Top

---

Uses

Figwort primarily is for external use; a skin medication for eczema, scabies, scurf, tumors, rashes, etc. Made into an ointment or fomentation it is used on scratches, bruises, and minor wounds. Treatments: deobstruent to the glandular system, tonsillitis, scrofula (tuberculosis of the lymph glands), gout, rheumatism, sluggish digestion, constipation, piles, takes away all redness, spots, and freckles of the face. Externally, for ringworm, psoriasis, varicose veins, piles, swelling, abscesses, ulcers, leprosy, boils, and itch.
Back to Top

---

Formulas or Dosages

Infusion: use 1 heaping tsp. of the plant with 1 cup water. Take 1-2 cups per day. Figwort has a bitter taste and may be sweetened with honey.

Poultice: use the leaves, crush and apply as a poultice.

Tincture: take 1/2 to 1 tsp. at a time. Also may be used externally.
Back to Top

---

Warning

Figwort stimulates the heart; avoid use in cases of rapid heartbeat or heart problems.
Back to Top

---

Resource Links

Natural Medicine Facts: Scrophularia scorodonia

Back to Top

Bibliography

American Folk Medicine, by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973

Back to Eden, by Jethro Kloss; Back to Eden Publishing Co., Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994

Chinese Medicinal Herbs, compiled by Shih-Chen Li, Georgetown Press, San Francisco, California, 1973.

The Complete Medicinal Herbal, by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993

Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs, by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814)

Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke., Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000

The Herb Book, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.

Herbal Gardening, compiled by The Robison York State Herb Garden, Cornell Plantations, Matthaei Botanical Gardens of the University of Michigan, University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley., Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition

The Magic of Herbs, by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England. (Out of print)

Planetary Herbology, by Michael Tierra, C.A., N.D., O.M.D., Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. WI 53181., Copyright 1988, published 1992

Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023

The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book), edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. Emmaus, PA, 18049., 1974

Back to Top