Scrophulariaceae


The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as one genus of shrubs. Flowers have bilateral or rarely radial 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 L.

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. Many genera have recently been transferred to other families within the Lamiales, notably Plantaginaceae and Orobanchaceae, but also several new families. Several families of the Lamiales have had their circumscriptions enlarged to accommodate genera transferred from the Scrophulariacae sensu lato.
Fischer 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 into three subtribes – Caprarinae, Dopatrinae, and Gratiolinae. The Gratiolinae had 10 genera distributed through temperate and tropical America – Bacopa and Mecardonia, 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 medicinal plants, among them:
The family Scrophulariaceae in its APG IV circumscription includes 62 genera and about 1830 known species.
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Excluded genera

The following genera, traditionally included in the Scrophulariaceae, have been transferred to other families as indicated: