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.
Fruits:
Capsules pear-shaped, 6-8 mm long; seeds numerous, oblong egg-shaped, angular, ridged.
Notes:
Easily confused with S. lanceolata.
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Scrophularia oregana Pennell
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 |