Scutellaria bolanderi
Encyclopedia
Scutellaria bolanderi is a species of flowering plant in the mint family
known by the common name Sierra skullcap. It is endemic to California
, where it is known from the Sierra Nevada and several of the mountain ranges to the south. It is a perennial herb producing an erect stem or cluster of stems 30 centimeters to one meter tall from a system of thin rhizome
s. The stems are coated in short, spreading hairs which sometimes have resin glands. The oval or heart-shaped leaves have wavy edges and are oppositely arranged. The lowest leaves are borne on short petioles
. Flowers emerge from the leaf axils. Each flower is held in a calyx of sepal
s with a large ridge or appendage on the upper part. The corolla is between 1 and 2 centimeters long and tubular in shape with a large upper and lower lip. The upper lip is folded into a beaklike protrusion and the lower has three wide lobes. The corolla is white or very pale blue with an area of blue mottling on the lower lip.
Lamiaceae
The mints, taxonomically known as Lamiaceae or Labiatae, are a family of flowering plants. They have traditionally been considered closely related to Verbenaceae, but in the 1990s, phylogenetic studies suggested that many genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae...
known by the common name Sierra skullcap. It is endemic to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it is known from the Sierra Nevada and several of the mountain ranges to the south. It is a perennial herb producing an erect stem or cluster of stems 30 centimeters to one meter tall from a system of thin rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
s. The stems are coated in short, spreading hairs which sometimes have resin glands. The oval or heart-shaped leaves have wavy edges and are oppositely arranged. The lowest leaves are borne on short petioles
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
. Flowers emerge from the leaf axils. Each flower is held in a calyx of sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s with a large ridge or appendage on the upper part. The corolla is between 1 and 2 centimeters long and tubular in shape with a large upper and lower lip. The upper lip is folded into a beaklike protrusion and the lower has three wide lobes. The corolla is white or very pale blue with an area of blue mottling on the lower lip.