Scutellaria. - Synonym. - Skullcap. The herb of Scutellaria lateriflora Linne (nat. ord. Labiatae).

Habitat

North America; west to Alabama, New Mexico and Oregon, in damp thickets.

Characters

About 50 cm. long, smooth; stem quadrangular, branched; leaves opposite, petiolate, about 5 cm. long, ovate-lanceolate or ovate-oblong, serrate; flowers in axillary, one-sided racemes, with a pale blue corolla, and bilabiate calyx, closed in fruit, the upper lip helmet-shaped; odor slight; taste bitterish.

Composition

1) A bitterish principle. (2) Volatile oil, a trace.

Dose, 1 to 2 dr.; 4. to 8. gm.

Preparation

Extractum Scutellariae Fluidum. Fluid Extract Of Scutellaria

By maceration and percolation with Diluted Alcohol and evaporation.

Dose, 1 to 2 fl. dr.; 4. to 8. c.c.

Uses of Scutellaria.

Scutellaria has little medicinal effect. It is used as a nervous sedative; formerly it was given in decoction for epilepsy.