Scutellaria tuberosa

Danny's skullcap

Family: Lamiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Danny's skullcap is a California native perennial found in the Great Valley, specifically in the Sutter Buttes, inhabiting dry sites in chaparral and oak woodland at elevations below 1,450 meters. Flowering from March to July, this plant produces striking violet-blue flowers with white-patched lower lips, approximately 13 to 20 millimeters long. Growing with delicate stems less than 25 centimeters tall and spreading hairs 1 to 3 millimeters long, it emerges from small underground tubers 5 to 20 millimeters in size. Its leaves have basal petioles 5 to 20 millimeters long, with upper stem leaves displaying ovate blades that are entire to slightly toothed, with rounded bases and tips. The plant's distinctive fruit is obconic and black, adding to its subtle woodland charm.

Habitat: dry sites, chaparral, oak woodland

Bloom period: Mar-Jul

Elevation: < 1450 m

Bioregions: CA-FP (only Sutter Buttes in GV)

California counties: Mendocino, Los Angeles, Contra Costa, Tuolumne, Santa Barbara, Riverside, Lake, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, Alameda, Tulare, Ventura, San Diego, Monterey, Santa Clara, Butte, Orange, Tehama, Fresno, Shasta, San Luis Obispo, Madera, San Bernardino, Sonoma, Humboldt, Nevada, Mariposa, Kern, Napa, El Dorado, Trinity, Merced, Colusa, Yuba, Marin, Sutter, Calaveras, Plumas, Amador, Stanislaus, Placer, San Benito, Solano, Yolo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.