Scrophularia marilandica, also called late figwort, Maryland figwort, carpenter's square, or eastern figwort, is a flowering plant in the family Scrophulariaceae, native throughout eastern and central North America, where it is found growing in dry woods from Manitoba and Quebec south to Texas and Florida. It grows 1.5 - tall, with opposite, ovate leaves up to 15 cm long and 9 cm broad. The flowers are rounded, 8 - long, with a cup-like mouth that look somewhat like a horse's mouth with a bad overbite; they are a deep reddish-purple color on the inside, with a greenish to almost brown cast on the outside. They are commonly visited by hummingbirds in late summer. Past common names for Scrophularia marilandica have included heal-all, pilewort, and scrofula-plant.Gentianaceae to Compositae; gentian to thistle. Dover Publications; 1970. . p. 179. It was once used in an ailment called "figs" to treat piles. During the 19th century, the root was used in an infusion to treat insomnia and anxiety.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Compounds documented for Scrophularia marilandica across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile2 classes
Unsaturated fatty acids8
Branched fatty acids $ Unsaturated fatty acids1
Documented compounds9 total
Compound
Class
Amount
Source
11-Eicosenoic Acid
present
LOTUS
alpha-Linolenic acid
present
LOTUS
Eicosanic acid
present
LOTUS
Gamma-Linolenic acid
present
LOTUS
Hexadecenoic acid
present
LOTUS
Linonelic acid
present
LOTUS
oleate
present
LOTUS
palmitate
present
LOTUS
stearate
present
LOTUS
05DNA & barcoding10 specimens
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Scrophularia marilandica has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
DNA specimens10
Marker genes5
GenBank sequences10
eDNA detections8
Countries2
The DNA barcodea real sequence read deposited for this species
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
★matK1★rbcL5★rbcLa★ITS4★ITS2
plant barcodefungal barcode
06Genome at a glanceGoaT
The complete instruction manualScrophularia marilandica carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
Ploidypolyploid inferred
Ploidy records — measured levels and diploid/polyploid inferences · click for sources
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
DNA clock origin3.06 Ma TimeTree
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
DNA clock origin
08Occurrence & distribution
Record type2 891 records
Wild obs. + sensor1 504
Museum / vouchered1 386
Cultivated / captive1
Origin
Native8
Range
Area of Occupancy AOO8 792 km²
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy83% within 1 km
≤100 m 879≤1 km 175≤10 km 44>10 km 167
1 265 georeferenced · 239 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor1 504
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Coordinate accuracy42% within 1 km
≤100 m 90≤1 km 328≤10 km 554>10 km 35
1 007 georeferenced · 379 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence1 386
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Coordinate accuracy
no georeferenced coordinates · 1 records without
Open the mapnot free-living1
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions67 of 94 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
Philadelphia, US
181
Chongqing Museumlocation not on record
170
Madison, US
115
Wuzhou, CN
114
Chapel Hill, US
106
Bloomington, US
98
Saint Louis, US
74
Bronx, US
48
Ann Arbor, US
38
New Haven, US
29
Burlington, US
28
St. Paul, US
23
Allentown, US
22
University of Stellenboschlocation not on record
19
Williamsburg, US
18
College Park, US
13
Jackson, US
12
Museum of the Rockieslocation not on record
11
Davenport, US
9
Fayetteville, US
9
Pittsburg, US
9
Little Rock, US
8
US
8
Dekalb, US
7
GB
7
Philadelphia, US
7
Morgantown, US
7
Columbia, US
7
Toronto, CA
6
Montréal, CA
6
Knoxville, US
6
Green Bay, US
6
University of Southern Mississippilocation not on record
6
Norfolk, US
5
McWane Science Centerlocation not on record
5
Millersville, US
4
Chicago, US
4
University of New Hampshirelocation not on record
4
Tuscaloosa, US
4
Staten Island, US
4
Kirksville, US
4
Fort Worth, US
3
Whitewater, US
3
Richmond, US
3
Museo civico La Terra e l'Uomo di Crocetta del Montellolocation not on record
3
Dover, US
3
Maryland Department of Natural Resourceslocation not on record
3
BAYLUlocation not on record
3
Asheville, US
3
Royal Ontario Museum, Green Plant Herbarium (TRT)location not on record
3
Austin, US
3
Minia, EG
3
Edmonton, CA
2
Northridge, US
2
James F. Matthews Center for Biodiversity Studieslocation not on record
2
Cambridge, US
2
New Brunswick, US
2
Denver, US
2
Vancouver, CA
2
Clemson, US
2
Chicago, US
2
Johnson City, US
2
Durham, US
2
DOI/NPS, Mississippi National River & Recreation Arealocation not on record
2
Flagstaff, US
1
Tall Timbers Research Stationlocation not on record
1
Washington, US
1
University of Alberta Museumslocation not on record
1
ASUlocation not on record
1
Kingston, US
1
University of North Carolina at Pembrokelocation not on record
1
Miami, US
1
Missoula, US
1
Acadia Universitylocation not on record
1
DOI/NPS, Selma to Montgomery National Historic Traillocation not on record
1
Jena Microbial Resource Collectionlocation not on record
1
Jefferson City, US
1
Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record
1
Royal Botanical Gardenslocation not on record
1
Nanjing, CN
1
Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreallocation not on record
1
GAlocation not on record
1
Spearfish, US
1
Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record
1
Istituto Agrario Castelnuovolocation not on record
1
Lincoln, US
1
Badajoz, ES
1
Due West, US
1
Fairfax, US
1
Chadron, US
1
Conway, US
1
Fredericksburg, US
1
DOI/NPS, Colonial National Historical Parklocation not on record
1
Appalachian State Universitylocation not on record
1
94 institutions · 1 348 of 1 386 vouchered records shown · 38 without an institution code
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
09Environmental DNA8 detections
Where the DNA of Scrophularia marilandica was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Detections DNA found8
Studies independent surveys1
Countries1
Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 8 detections have coordinates
Open the map1 country0
Kame moraine hill dry meadow of Poa, Phleum,…Basin valley slope forest of White Ash-Sugar…Drumlin slope disturbed opening in deciduous…Drumlin island mesic forest of red oak, whit…Red Oak slopeSugar Maple-Black Maple bottomland forest
How strong is each trace?
DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.
Modelled climatemodelled
−15°Ctemperature across detection sites+40°C
Temperature median15.1 °C 15.1–17.9
Seasonal swing summer↔winter28.1 °C
Max temp (day)20.2 °C 20.2–22.8
Min temp (night)12.0 °C 12.0–14.8
Precipitation89.2 mm/mo 87.7–89.2
Air humidity60.7 % 60.7–60.8
Moisture balance-4.80 mm/mo -25.7–-4.80
Vapour deficit674 Pa 674–811
Wind speed3.80 m/s 2.60–3.80
Cloud cover51.2 % 43.2–51.2
CHELSA 1981–2010, ~9 km grid, at location & month of 3 detection points · median with p10–p90 · reflects where sampling happened, not only the true niche
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation1 languages↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility2 891 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI8 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics10 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype
Paleobiology DatabasePBDB consortiumfossil record↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗