Blue Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)
Description
Scutellaria lateriflora, known commonly as blue skullcap, mad dog skullcap, and side-flowering skullcap, is a hardy perennial herb of the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to North America. It has an upright habit, growing 60 to 80 centimeters in maximum height. It is a wetland-loving species and grows near marshes, meadows, and other wet habitat. The blue flowers are just under a centimeter long. Most of the flowers do not appear at the top of the main stem, but are produced along the length of side branches that grow from the leaf axils. Scutellaria lateriflora contains flavonoids.[5] Other skullcaps used for similar purposes include common skullcap (S. galericulata), western skullcap (S. canescens), and southern skullcap (S. cordifolia). Its extracts are used in herbal medicine intended to be a mild sedative and sleep promoter. Skullcap products have been analyzed, with some adulterated by Teucrium canadense or T. chamaedrys, also known as germander, which contains potentially hepatotoxic diterpenes. β-Elemene in the herb is under preliminary research in vitro, but studies in humans have not confirmed any efficacy. Diterpenes isolated from S. barbata had cytotoxic activity against three human cancer cell lines in vitro.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Lamiales
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Family: Lamiaceae
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Genus: Scutellaria
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