Identification
This native perennial has stout, erect 4-angled stems 3-8 feet tall. Opposite, stalked leaves are lance to oval shaped with pointed tips and toothed margins (B). Its unusual flowers occur in elongated branching clusters (panicles) at the tip of the main stem and its branches (C). The small tubular flowers about 1/3 inch long are reddish brown on the inside and greenish outside (A,D). Flowers are divided at the tip into separate lobes. The two reddish brown upper lobes are largest, forming a hood-like structure. The two side lobes and lower lobe are greenish with variable amounts of reddish brown. Unlike the others, the lower lobe curves sharply backward beneath the underside of the tube. Projecting from the mouth of the tube are 4 yellow pollen bearing stamens and the recurved pistil. The dark purple sterile fifth stamen (staminode) lies at the top of the tube, hidden beneath the upper lobes (D). Fruit is a two-celled capsule filled with tiny black seeds (E).
Figwort is common on the floodplain and moister areas in ravines and uplands at Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods. Flowering occurs in July and August.
Surprisingly, these small, inconspicuous flowers produce abundant nectar attractive to a variety of pollinators, especially bees and wasps.
‘Figs’ are a previously used name for hemorrhoids. The common names Figwort and Pilewort are testament to its use for this condition in traditional medicine.