Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

RESINOUS SKULLCAP

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Scutellaria resinosa Torr.

Mitchell County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 4-12 inches

Family: Lamiaceae - Mint Family

Flowering Period: May, June, July

Stems:

Erect, numerous, stiff, slender, 4-sided, leafy, branched, short grayish-hairy, arising from thick, woody crowns.

Leaves:

Opposite, simple, short-stalked or sessile, egg-shaped to elliptic, 1/3 to 1/2 inch long, 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide, short grayish-hairy; margins entire; tips rounded; upper leaves reduced.

Inflorescences:

2 flowers per node in leaf axils of upper 1/2 of plant.

Flowers:

Calyces 2-parted, short-hairy, resin-dotted; corollas 2-lipped, 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, deep blue or purple, white patches on lower lip, minutely hairy; stamens 4, under upper lip.

Fruits:

4 nutlets, dark, covered with pimple-like bumps, each 1-seeded.

Habitat:

Dry upland prairies on rocky or sandy limestone soils.

Distribution:

North-central and west-central Kansas.

Comments:

The common name comes from the flower's resemblance to a priest's cap or a helmet-like head covering.

Resinous skullcap