Scutellaria baicalensis Seeds | Mad Dog Skullcap
LATIN NAME: Scutellaria baicalensis
COMMON NAME: Baikal Skullcap
Plant Profile
Baikal Skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis) grows as a perennial in the mint family. Skullcap raises its one-sided spikes of small, hooded, blue-violet flowers, and narrow leaves clothe square stems. It is a plant of open, sunny, deep, moist, well-drained ground. Through the flowering season it keeps visiting bees well supplied. It is the sort of plant that quietly justifies the space it occupies.
Science & Biotechnology
Huang qin’s pharmacology rests on a distinctive group of root flavones that lack the usual 4′-hydroxyl: baicalin and baicalein, wogonoside and wogonin. Baicalin is the Chinese Pharmacopoeia quality marker, and these flavones inhibit eicosanoid-producing enzymes, which gives a mechanistic basis for the root’s traditional use in inflammation and infection. Baical skullcap was one of the 21 herbs in the Qing Fei Pai Du Tang formula used during the COVID-19 response in China, and it is monographed by the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia. Only three Scutellaria species have so far been tested in human trials, so most mechanistic findings remain preclinical.
As part of the mint family, Scutellaria baicalensis contributes to research on plant classification and adaptation, while nurseries and gardeners continue to trial it for cultivation. Modern propagation practice has made this species straightforward to raise by ordinary good methods.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, Baikal Skullcap earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. Skullcap is a fine, bright plant of border and study collection. It is a fine, bright plant of open, sunny, deep, moist, well-drained garden. Give young plants deep, moist bed, and hooded spikes will rise in second season. In later seasons it demands little more than an appreciative eye.
Skullcap root, Huang Qin, is one of the most-used Chinese heat-clearing herbs, its baicalin and baicalein flavones studied for anti-inflammatory, antiviral and calming effects; the American skullcap leaf is Western herbalism’s gentle nerve tonic.
Growing from Seed
Starting Baikal Skullcap from seed is simple and satisfying. Sow thinly on the surface of a loose, well-drained seed compost, cover lightly, water in gently and keep the tray in a sunny spot with even moisture. When the young plants are big enough to handle, space them into pots or a nursery row and let them size up before their final move.
Our Take
Baikal Skullcap settles in quickly once it finds its footing. Careful watering early on is rewarded by toughness at maturity.
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