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Scrophularia umbrosa

Common name:	Water Betony	Family:	Scrophulariaceae
Author:	Dumort.	Botanical references:	17
Synonyms:	Scrophularia neesii, Scrophularia aquatica (L. (name ambiguous).), Scrophularia alata (Gilib.)
Known Hazards:	The plant is probably poisonous to cows[76].
Range:	Europe, including Britain, south and east from S. Sweden to France, Palestine and Asia to Tibet.
Habitat:	Damp shady ground, usually near water[4, 17]. An occasional garden weed[1].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	S. auriculata[B,G,P] S. grayana[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Bishop's Leaves [H], Braunwurz [E], Brownwirt [H], Crowdy Kit [H], Escrofularia Acuatica [E], Fiddler [H], Fiddlewood [H], Figwort [P], Gevleugeld Helmkruid [D], Su Kestereotu [E], Water Betony [H], Water Figwort [B,P,H,E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	umbrosa = shady;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Scrophulariales. Figwort family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Europe; Spain; Turkey

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1.5m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 7. It is in flower from June to September, and the seeds ripen from July to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees and wasps. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist or wet soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Bog Garden, Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Root.

Root - cooked[2, 105]. There must be some doubts about the edibility of this root[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Detergent; Vulnerary.

The leaves are detergent and vulnerary[4]. They are harvested as the plant comes into flower and can be used fresh or dried for later use[4]. The plant has a good reputation as a wound herb, either applied externally as a poultice or taken as a decoction[4].

Water betony is said to have similar medicinal properties to the knotted figwort, S. nodosa[254]. These properties are as follows:-
Knotted figwort is a plant that supports detoxification of the body and it may be used as a treatment for various kinds of skin disorders[254].
The whole plant is alterative, anodyne, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, mildly purgative and stimulant[4, 9, 21, 165]. It is harvested as the plant comes into flower in the summer and can be dried for later use[4]. A decoction is applied externally to sprains, swellings, burns, inflammations etc, and is said to be useful in treating chronic skin diseases, scrofulous sores and gangrene[4, 254]. The leaves can also be applied fresh or be made into an ointment[4]. Internally, the plant is used in the treatment of chronic skin diseases (such as eczema, psoriasis and pruritis), mastitis, swollen lymph nodes and poor circulation[238]. It should not be prescribed for patients with heart conditions[238].
The root is anthelmintic[9].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most moist soils.
A good bee plant[4].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring or autumn in a cold frame[238]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
If you have sufficient seed then it can be sown outdoors in situ in the autumn or the spring.
Division in spring. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Scrophularia alata (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for Scrophularia aquatica (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for Scrophularia auriculata (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for the family Scrophulariaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[76] Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. HMSO 1984 ISBN 0112425291
Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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