The colors below indicate the kind of documentation available for this species
in the California counties where it occurs.
California Skullcap Scutellaria californica (Lamiaceae)
Think of the challenge of naming the 200 genera and approximately 5500 species in the mint family. It has been said that when a botanist attempts to place a species in a given genus, the primary question should be, whether or not it is related to the undoubted species of that genus. The key character that distinguishes the natural assemblage of species placed in the genus Scutellaria involves morphology of the calyx. An erect, rounded appendage on the upper side of the tubular calyx reminded the author of the genus of a skullcap, and hence the common and scientific name. Scutellaria is derived from scutella, Latin for a small dish or saucer, in reference to the adorned calyx.
DISTRIBUTION: Open sites, shrublands and woodlands from the Klamath and North Coast Ranges to the northern Sierra Nevada; 700-2000 m.
