The Scrophulariaceae are a family of , commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scrophulariaceae have a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority found in temperate areas, including tropical mountains. The family name is based on the name of the included genus Scrophularia Carl Linnaeus
Taxonomy
In the past, it was treated as including about 275 genera and over 5,000 species, but its circumscription has been radically altered since numerous molecular
phylogenies have shown the traditional broad circumscription to be grossly
polyphyletic.
[Fischer says that, if we consider morphology, it has been obvious for the last decades that the Scrophulariaceae do not represent a monophyletic group. See FISCHER (2004), p. 346.] Many genera have recently been transferred to other families within the
Lamiales, notably
Plantaginaceae and
Orobanchaceae, but also several new families.
[ - on line here] Several families of the Lamiales have had their circumscriptions enlarged to accommodate genera transferred from the Scrophulariacae
sensu lato.
Fischer (2004) considered the family to consist of three subfamilies – Antirrhinoideae, Gratioloideae, and Digitalidoideae. He further divided the Gratioloideae into five tribes – Gratioleae, Angeloniaeae, Stemodieae, Limoselleae, and Lindernieae. He then divided the Gratioleae, with its 16 genera (and about 182 species) into three subtribes – Caprarinae, Dopatrinae, and Gratiolinae. The Gratiolinae had 10 genera (about 121 species) distributed through temperate and tropical America – Bacopa and Mecardonia (formerly Herpestis), Amphianthus, Gratiola, Sophronanthe, Benjaminia, Scoparia, Boelkea, Maeviella, and Braunblequetia. Many of these were transferred to the family Plantaginaceae, in the tribe Gratioleae.
Uses
The family includes some
Herbalism, among them:
Genera
The family Scrophulariaceae in its APG IV (2016)
circumscription includes 62 genera and about 1830 known species.
As of May 2024, Plants of the World Online accepts 58 genera.
[ Scrophulariaceae Juss. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 13 May 2024.]
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- Tribe Aptosimeae
- Tribe Buddlejeae
- Tribe Camptolomeae
- Tribe Hemimerideae
- Tribe Leucophylleae
- Tribe Limoselleae
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- Tribe Myoporeae
- Tribe Scrophularieae
- Tribe Teedieae
- Not placed in a tribe or unknown tribe
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Excluded genera
The following genera, traditionally included in the Scrophulariaceae, have been transferred to other families as indicated:
Further reading
External links
