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.

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figwort British  

/ ˈfɪɡˌwɜːt /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of figwort

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

Example Sentences

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 figwort family has many and curious representatives.

From The Mountain that was 'God' Being a Little Book About the Great Peak Which the Indians Named 'Tacoma' but Which is Officially Called 'Rainier' by Williams, John H. (John Harvey)

The tall stems of the Californian figwort are common along roadsides, and become especially rank and luxuriant where the soil has been freshly stirred.

From The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits by Parsons, Mary Elizabeth

Who shall any longer refer to the figwort as an "uninteresting weed"?

From Eye Spy Afield with Nature Among Flowers and Animate Things by Gibson, W. Hamilton (William Hamilton)

They appear to have quite forsaken the ancient herbal remedies, as the sickle-herb, knotted figwort, and so on.

From The Life of the Fields by Jefferies, Richard