figwort

American  

[fig-wurt, -wawrt] / ˈfɪgˌwɜrt, -ˌwɔrt /

noun

1. any of numerous tall, usually coarse woodland plants of the genus Scrophularia, having a terminal cluster of small greenish-brown to purplish-brown flowers.

---

figwort British  

/ ˈfɪɡˌwɜːt /

noun

1. any scrophulariaceous plant of the N temperate genus Scrophularia , having square stems and small brown or greenish flowers

---

Etymology

Origin of figwort

First recorded in 1540–50; fig ¹ + wort ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

figwort

He paddled across awkwardly, his head tilted high out of the water, and made for the figwort.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

The mother butterflies select as food plants for the larvae various members of either the plantain or figwort families.

From Butterflies Worth Knowing by Clarence M. Weed

At the foot of a figwort stalk in the pasture, shielded by a little sprig of choke-cherry and a wisp of grasses, a new nest is being builded.

From Some Summer Days in Iowa by Frederick John Lazell

In the ditches the square-stemmed figwort is conspicuous by its dark green.

From The Toilers of the Field by Richard Jefferies

Fanning the air with gauzy wings, the honey bee comes for a feast on the flowers of the figwort.

From Some Summer Days in Iowa by Frederick John Lazell