Scutellaria mexicana
Bladder-sage, Bladder-Sage
Photo by Chez Brungraber
Family: Lamiaceae · Type: Shrub · Native
Scutellaria mexicana (Bladder-sage) is a native California shrub in the Lamiaceae family, recognized by shrub form and bladder fruits.
Bladder-sage is a California native shrub found in southern Sierra Nevada and desert regions on sandy to gravelly slopes, washes, and woodland areas at elevations up to 1,900 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces white to light violet and purple flowers with distinctive two-lipped blossoms 15 to 25 millimeters long. Growing 5 to 10 meters tall with a rounded form, the shrub features spreading lateral branches that become rigid with spine-like tips in maturity. Its leaves are small, generally ovate to elliptic, 3 to 15 millimeters long with entire margins, attached to branches by short petioles or nearly sessile. The plant's most distinctive feature is its calyx, which becomes bladder-like and approximately purple in fruit, creating an unusual visual characteristic.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 2 sympatric species; key features are shrub form and bladder fruits
Habitat and range
Habitat: Sandy to gravelly slopes, washes, scrub, woodland
Elevation: < 1900 m
California counties: Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Kern, Inyo, Imperial, San Diego
Outside California: to Utah, Texas, northern Mexico
Bloom period
Scutellaria mexicana blooms Mar-Jun.
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 mexicana native to California?
Yes. Scutellaria mexicana is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Scutellaria mexicana bloom?
Scutellaria mexicana blooms Mar-Jun.
Where in California does Scutellaria mexicana grow?
Scutellaria mexicana occurs in Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Kern, Inyo, Imperial, San Diego, at elevations of < 1900 m.
What plant family does Scutellaria mexicana belong to?
Scutellaria mexicana is in the Lamiaceae family, genus Scutellaria.
What habitat does Scutellaria mexicana grow in?
Scutellaria mexicana grows in Sandy to gravelly slopes, washes, scrub, woodland.
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.