| the plant family Scrophulariaceae, characterized by herbaceous plants and shrubs having alternate or opposite leaves, often showy two-lipped or irregular flowers, fruit in the form of a capsule or berry, and including the figwort, foxglove, Indian paintbrush, mullein, speedwell, and snapdragon. |
figwort family
the figwort or snapdragon family of flowering plants, one of 12 in the figwort order (Scrophulariales), containing about 190 genera and 4,000 species with worldwide distribution. It contains no crop plants of great economic importance but is notable for many ornamental garden plants, such as the snapdragon (Antirrhinum; see ), speedwell (Veronica), slipper flower (Calceolaria), beard tongue (Penstemon), and many others. Some, such as the toadflax (Linaria) and mullein (Verbascum), are troublesome weeds. The drug digitoxin is produced from the leaves of the foxglove (Digitalis purpurea).
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