Scrophulariaceae - Snapdragon family

Annual or perennial herbs, shrubs or, rarely, trees. Stipules mostly 0. Leaves alternate, opposite or whorled, entire, toothed or variously lobed or dissected. Inflorescences various. Pedicels with 0 or 2 bracteoles. Flowers bisexual, rarely unisexual, usually zygomorphic. Calyx (3-)5-lobed, usually ± united. Corolla gamopetalous, sometimes produced into 1 or 2 spurs or sacs; limb usually 4- or 5-lobed, the lobes subequal or 2-lipped. Stamens 4, didynamous or sometimes equal, rarely 5. Ovary superior, 2(-4)-locular; ovules 1-many per loculus Fruit usually a capsule, sometimes a schizocarp, rarely a berry or drupe. Seeds small, numerous.

Comment: According to the most recent taxonomic research by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG-III), the traditional concepts of Scrophulariaceae were no longer satisfactory. Many genera, formerly included in this family, have therefore now been placed in separate families. As this new concept has become widely accepted, we have adjusted accordingly, resulting in the following changes:
All hemiparasitic genera are now in Orobanchaceae;
All genera formerly placed in the subfamily Lindernieae are now in Linderniaceae, provisionally also including the African species of Stemodiopsis;
A substantial number of genera are now placed in Plantaginaceae;
The genus Mimulus is now part of Phrymaceae;
Halleria is now in Stilbaceae.

Worldwide: 62 genera and c. 1,700 species, cosmopolitan, but especially temperate areas and on tropical mountains.

Zimbabwe: 6 cultivated genera and 10 cultivated taxa.