General: Perennial herb from thickened roots; stems erect, 50-120 cm tall, 4-angled, minutely glandular-hairy.
Leaves: Opposite, stalked, the stalks 3-6 cm long, the blades egg-shaped to moe or less triangular, 7-17 cm long, coarsely single- to double-toothed.
Flowers: Inflorescence a long, open, branched, terminal cluster of stalked flowers; corollas short-tubular, 8-13 mm long, the upper half brown to maroon, the lower half paler or yellowish-green, 2-lipped, the upper lip pointing forward, 2-lobed, the lower lip shorter, 3-lobed, the middle lobe pointing down; calyces 3-4 mm long, 5-lobed, the lobes oblong to egg-shaped, blunt; fertile stamens 4, sterile stamens 1, attached near the base of the upper lip, brown to purple, broadened toward the tip, club-to egg-shaped, slightly longer than wide.
1. Sterile stamens purple or brown, mostly 0.5-1 mm wide and slightly longer than wide; corollas dark maroon, at least on the upper lip....................Scrophularia californica
1. Sterile stamens yellow-green, generally 1-1.8 mm wide and slightly wider than long; corollas yellowish-green with a light maroon overcast, especially above.......................Scrophularia lanceolata
Habitat / Range
Moist streambanks, shores, thickets, clearings, roadsides, and forest openings in the lowland zone; locally frequent on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands; S to OR.