Mad-Dog Skullcap

Kendall County (IL) Forest Preserve District

Mad-Dog Skullcap (Blue Skullcap)
Scutellaria lateriflora [C-value 5]
Mint family (Lamiaceae)
Blooms August - September

The native Mad-Dog Skullcap is common in our area. It prefers light shade to full sun and wet to moist soil with abundant organic matter. Habitats include moist sedge meadows, openings in floodplain woodlands, marshes, mudflats and wetlands. This perennial is a member of the mint family. It grows to 1–2½' tall, smooth and branching occasionally with opposite, oval to lance-shaped leaves up to 3" long and 2" across with petioles up to 1" long. It has both terminal and axillary one-sided racemes, up to 6" long, of small leaf-axil blossoms up to 1/3" long, pale blue, lavender, or white.

Mad-Dog Skullcap at Blackberry Trail Forest Preserve wetland August 22, 2014

Mad-Dog Skullcap at Subat Forest Preserve wetland September 2, 2013

Mad Dog Skullcap was cultivated and used by Native American women for menstrual cycles or to stimulate the reproductive system. Some tribes used it in purification ceremonies. The Iroquois used an infusion of the root to keep the throat clear, while other tribes used some species as bitter tonics for the kidneys. It has also been found to relieve stress, support the nervous system, for insomnia, tension, and restlessness. It is a powerful medicinal herb. The anti-inflammatory, Abortifacient, has been used as a sedative and for treatment of epilepsy, hysteria, anxiety, throat infections, headache, pain, anxiety, convulsions, and more. Warning: Pregnant women should not take Skullcap. Reminder: see our Do Not Disturb Notice.

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