Skullcap

Scutellaria lateriflora

Lamiaceae

A wetland mint for circular thinking — a nervine that wants the right species.

American skullcap. Chinese skullcap (S. baicalensis) is a different root medicine.

Parts used: Aerial parts
Traditional notes: Anxious restlessness · Insomnia from a spinning mind · Muscle tightness from nerves
Grow · USDA 6b: Perennial, USDA 4–8 Seed or division. A wet meadow plant. In work: Jun · Jul · Aug
Harvest: Tops in full flower.

Wet meadow or pond margin. Dry beds make a sulk.
Buy lateriflora from a grower who knows the name — germander adulteration is the caution.
Cut in full flower for the nervine herb.

Safety

Unverified bulk herb (germander risk) Before driving

Lore

The calyx looks like a tiny helmet, hence Scutellaria. Mad-dog skullcap was a 19th-century rabies claim that did not hold. The plant that remains is a quiet American nervine of wet ground.

The Herbarium — a teaching catalog, not a clinic. Traditional use is history, not a prescription. USDA 6b dates are a week either way, not a promise. Do not eat, drink, or harvest a plant you cannot name.