Figwort; a genus of the angiospermae order, belonging to the didynamia class of plants. There are 17 species; the most remarkable of which is the aquatica, or greater water-figwort, which grows naturally by the sides of ditches in many parts of Britain. It has a fibrous root, sending out strong four-cornered stalks, which grow near four feet high; garnished with heart-shaped leaves, rounded at their points, and crenated on their edges, somewhat like those of betony; from whence it has got the name of water-betony. The flowers are produced in clusters, forming a kind of loose spike, and are of a reddish colour. The leaves are used in medicine as a corrector of senna, and in powder to promote sneezing.