Scutellaria lateriflora
Side-flowering skullcap, Side-Flowering Skullcap
(c) Sandy Wolkenberg, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Lamiaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2
Scutellaria lateriflora (Side-flowering skullcap) is a native California herb in the Lamiaceae family, recognized by very small flowers in lateral spikes.
Side-flowering skullcap is a native perennial found in the Deltaic Great Valley and eastern Sierra Nevada saline regions in marshes and wet meadows at elevations below 500 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces blue flowers in compact racemes or spikes with blossoms 6 to 8 millimeters long. Growing 20 to 60 centimeters tall with slender rhizomes and glabrous or sparsely hairy stems, it has an ascending to upcurled growth habit. Its cauline leaves range from ovate to lanceolate, with rounded to truncate bases, slightly dentate edges, and acute tips, with proximal leaf petioles 10 to 20 millimeters long. The fruit is approximately spherical and brown.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 1 sympatric species; key feature is very small flowers in lateral spikes
Habitat and range
Habitat: Marshes, wet meadows
Elevation: < 500 m
California counties: Santa Clara, San Joaquin, Sacramento
Outside California: to British Columbia, eastern United States
Bloom period
Scutellaria lateriflora blooms May-Jul.
Conservation status
CNPS 2B.2
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 lateriflora native to California?
Yes. Scutellaria lateriflora is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Scutellaria lateriflora bloom?
Scutellaria lateriflora blooms May-Jul.
Where in California does Scutellaria lateriflora grow?
Scutellaria lateriflora occurs in Santa Clara, San Joaquin, Sacramento, at elevations of < 500 m.
What plant family does Scutellaria lateriflora belong to?
Scutellaria lateriflora is in the Lamiaceae family, genus Scutellaria.
Is Scutellaria lateriflora rare or endangered?
Scutellaria lateriflora carries California Rare Plant Rank 2B.2, state rank S1S2.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CNPS Rare Plant Inventory · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos · CDFW CNDDB
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.