Scutellaria antirrhinoides
Nose skullcap
(c) Don Loarie, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Lamiaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Scutellaria antirrhinoides (Nose skullcap) is a native California herb in the Lamiaceae family, recognized by flower color pattern and size.
Nose skullcap is a California native perennial found in northwestern California, the Cascade Range, and Modoc Plateau in dry, rocky slopes, oak woodlands, and conifer forests at elevations below 2,300 meters. Flowering from June to September, this plant produces distinctive violet-blue flowers with white-patched lower lips, measuring 13 to 21 millimeters long. Growing with slender stems 10 to 35 centimeters tall, it has delicate appressed-ascending hairs and slender rhizomes with slightly swollen tips. Its leaves are ovate to oblong, with basal petioles 5 to 10 millimeters long and rounded to tapered bases, displaying an elegant simplicity in its foliage. The fruit develops as a distinctive black seed, completing the plant's subtle but intricate lifecycle.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 5 sympatric species; key features are flower color pattern and size
Habitat and range
Habitat: Dry, rocky, often serpentine slopes, ridges, oak woodland, conifer forest
Elevation: < 2300 m
California counties: Mendocino, Humboldt, Siskiyou, Del Norte, Nevada, Glenn, Trinity, Tehama, Plumas, Shasta, Riverside, Lake, Kern, Modoc, Sonoma, Napa, Lassen, Sierra, Stanislaus
Outside California: to Washington
Bloom period
Scutellaria antirrhinoides blooms Jun-Sep.
How to tell it apart
vs Salvia: Salvia has only 2 stamens with a see-saw lever connective and often aromatic foliage; Scutellaria has 4 stamens and a smooth rounded crest (the 'skullcap') on top of the calyx.; vs Stachys: Stachys is hairy and aromatic with flowers in whorled clusters above a 5-toothed bell calyx; Scutellaria bears flowers in axillary pairs and a 2-lipped calyx with a distinctive dorsal hump.; vs Prunella: Prunella packs its flowers into a dense terminal head with leafy bracts and a flat-topped calyx; Scutellaria has paired axillary flowers and a crested, lidded calyx.; vs Monardella: Monardella is strongly aromatic with flowers in dense terminal heads; Scutellaria is scarcely aromatic with solitary paired flowers and the crested calyx.; vs Marrubium: Horehound has wrinkled woolly leaves and a 10-toothed hooked calyx in dense whorls; Scutellaria has the smooth 2-lipped crested calyx and paired flowers.
Frequently asked questions
Is Scutellaria antirrhinoides native to California?
Yes. Scutellaria antirrhinoides is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Scutellaria antirrhinoides bloom?
Scutellaria antirrhinoides blooms Jun-Sep.
Where in California does Scutellaria antirrhinoides grow?
Scutellaria antirrhinoides occurs in Mendocino, Humboldt, Siskiyou, Del Norte, Nevada, Glenn, Trinity, Tehama and other counties, at elevations of < 2300 m.
What plant family does Scutellaria antirrhinoides belong to?
Scutellaria antirrhinoides is in the Lamiaceae family, genus Scutellaria.
What habitat does Scutellaria antirrhinoides grow in?
Scutellaria antirrhinoides grows in Dry, rocky, often serpentine slopes, ridges, oak woodland, conifer forest.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.