Common Names
Maryland figwort, brownwort, bullwort, Carpenter’s square, figwort, great pilewort, heal-all, Holme’s weed, kernelwort, knotted root, murrain grass, pilewort, scrofula plant, square stalk, stinking Christopher.

Description
A perennial that grows to 9 feet in height, with 4-angled stems. Leaves are opposite, thin, 3 to 12 inches long, with toothed margins, ovate or rounded and broad at base, tapering to a point at tip. The small reddish-brown flowers are loosely arranged on irregular thin branches at the top of the plant.

Flowering Period
June to October.

Habitat
Rich woods and thickets, open woodlands, fallow fields, and roadsides.

Harvest
Leaves, roots, and herb at flowering time.

Uses
The herb is used as a tonic, diuretic, diaphoretic, and in reducing hemorrhoids.