Scutellaria integrifolia Linnaeus. Common name: Narrowleaf Skullcap. Phenology: May-Jul; Jul-Aug. Habitat: Wet pine savannas, pine flatwoods, seeps in forests, bottomlands, other moist sites, ditches. Distribution: MA south to c. peninsular FL, west to e. TX, northward in the interior to OH, KY, and TN.
Origin/Endemic status: Native
Synonymy ⓘ: = Ar, C, Fl6, FNA, G, GW2, K4, NE, NY, Pa, S, Tat, Tn, Va, W, WH3, Collins (1976); > Scutellaria integrifolia L. var. hispida Benth. — F, RAB, Tx; > Scutellaria integrifolia L. var. integrifolia — F, RAB, Tx. Basionym: Scutellaria integrifolia L. 1753
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Wetland Indicator Status:
- Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FAC
- Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FACW
- Great Plains: FACW
- Midwest: FACW
- Northcentral & Northeast: FACW
Heliophily ⓘ: 7
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Horticultural Information
Intro: Erect perennial growing in wet pine savannas, seeps in forests, bottomlands and other moist sites.
Stems: Stems single to many from a slightly woody base, 4-angled, with arched-ascending branches above, densely hairy.
Leaves: Leaves opposite, petiolate, lower ones oval or triangular-oval, upper ones lance-shaped to narrowly elliptic; with blunt to acute tips, toothed to entire margins and hairy.
Inforescence:
Flowers: Flowers in a terminal raceme up to 8 in. long; bluish-purple; to 1 in. long; bilaterally symmetric; tubular, the corolla tube furry and with a hood-like upper lip arched above a spreading lower lip, which is slightly notched, convex, and marked by two white bands. As in all Scutellaria species, the calyx tube is 2-lobed, with a distinctive cap-like projection on the upper lobe.
Fruits:
Comments: A non-aromatic member of the mint family.
Height: 1-2 ft.
plant sale text: Large-flower skullcap produces short racemes of violet-blue flowers, each with a flaring lower lip, that bloom sporadically for several weeks. Each individual flower bears a passing resemblance to a skull, hence its common name. Large-flower skullcap grows in pine barrens and along roadsides throughout North Carolina. This species is tolerant of a range of growing conditions, including soil types that vary from moist to well-drained. Over time, it grows into a modest-sized clump. If you want more plants, do not cut its flowers and it is likely to self-seed.
bloom table text:
description: Erect perennial growing in wet pine savannas, seeps in forests, bottomlands and other moist sites.
stems: Stems single to many from a slightly woody base, 4-angled, with arched-ascending branches above, densely hairy.
leaves: Leaves opposite, petiolate, lower ones oval or triangular-oval, upper ones lance-shaped to narrowly elliptic; with blunt to acute tips, toothed to entire margins and hairy.
inflorescence:
flowers: Flowers in a terminal raceme up to 8 in. long; bluish-purple; to 1 in. long; bilaterally symmetric; tubular, the corolla tube furry and with a hood-like upper lip arched above a spreading lower lip, which is slightly notched, convex, and marked by two white bands. As in all Scutellaria species, the calyx tube is 2-lobed, with a distinctive cap-like projection on the upper lobe.
fruits:
comments: A non-aromatic member of the mint family.
cultural notes:
germination code: 2
native range: eastern United States
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