carpenter's square, Scrophularia marilandica

In days of yore, if scrofula got you by the scruff, this is the remedy you would hope for. Fortunately we now have treatments for that nasty form of pneumonia that actually work. Species of Scrophularia are often called figworts, and are a little notorious for being hard to tell apart, but they are very recognizable as a group. That group was long used to treat all sorts of maladies. They are large plants, up to ten feet tall, so easy to find. These flowers though are only about a quarter inch long. They are sometimes grown in gardens because of their rep as a pollinator magnate. They attract all sorts of bugs, and hummingbirds too. This species of figwort is a woodland plant in AL, AR, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV, ON, and QC. Lenawee Co MI, 7/30/10. Figwort family, Scrophulariaceae.