Skullcap is a large genus of herbaceous plants of the Lamiaceae or Labiatae family. The leaves are petiolate, often crenate or toothed, less often entire or slightly dissected.
The flower of the plant has a bell-shaped calyx, two-lipped (the upper lip is helmet-shaped, the lower is flat) with a concave crest. Collectively, all the flowers form spike-shaped or racemose inflorescences on the tops of the stems. The nut-shaped fruits are oblate-spherical or ovoid, warty, pubescent, and may be smooth. Ripe fruits shoot seeds when touched. Many types of skullcap are decorative, some are medicinal plants, but all of them are classified as dye herbs.
Useful properties of skullcap
Scutellaria vulgaris, Baltic, and Altai are widely used in folk and official medicine in many countries. Their roots contain essential oils, flavonoids, starch, tannins, pyrocatechins, and resins. They contain a lot of saponins and coumarins, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Plants can be called very useful due to their content of iron, manganese, copper, zinc, cobalt, molybdenum and iodine.The medicinal plant has pronounced anti-asthmatic and histamine properties. In Tibetan and Chinese medicine, the herb is valued as an antitumor and anti-sclerotic agent. It strengthens the immune system and has an antihelminthic effect. Studies have shown the presence of scutellarin glycoside in the plant.
Applications of skullcap
The herb is used for chronic fatigue, cardiac dysfunction, neuroses, and irritations associated with premenstrual syndrome. As a natural stimulant and tonic, skullcap is considered the most effective drug with antihypertensive and sedative properties. Anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects allow it to be used for colds and to eliminate headaches.This is one of the most versatile herbs that can dilate blood vessels, normalize heart rate, and prevent convulsions. Among other things, skullcap has a positive effect on the gastrointestinal tract and liver function. Taking remedies from skullcap has a therapeutic effect for stagnation of bile and constipation. With long-term use, the plant does not cause addiction or negative effects. It is prescribed in the initial stages of hypertension, insomnia, and myocarditis. There is an improvement in well-being and performance.
This miracle plant improves well-being during toxicosis during pregnancy. In China, traditional healers recommend an ointment based on it for healing wounds. Scutellaria is used for bronchitis and pneumonia. There is also information that the herb is a good remedy even for the prevention of rabies. And yet its main purpose is to strengthen, soften, and sedate; it is low-toxic.
Skullcap infusion: Pour 1 teaspoon of raw material into a glass of boiling water, let it brew in a thermos for 2 hours, strain and take 1 tablespoon 4-5 times a day before meals.
Skullcap root
Scutellaria root is a well-known medicinal raw material that came to European medicine from the East. Rhizomes and roots are harvested in the fall, during the period of maximum concentration of biologically active substances. The raw material contains vitamins and microelements, is a choleretic, expectorant and diuretic. It is included in the complex treatment of diabetes, shortness of breath, pneumonia, pulmonary tuberculosis, nephritis, meningitis, and is prescribed during the period of influenza, cholera, and anthrax.There is experience in the effective treatment of mumps and various infectious diseases. Preparations from the root shrink the thyroid gland and stop the growth of metastases in the presence of tumors. Externally, remedies from skullcap root are used for skin diseases and allergic dermatoses.
Skullcap tincture
Crushed dry roots must be poured with 70% alcohol (1:5) or vodka, left in a dark place for a week and taken 20-30 drops 2-3 times a day, diluting with water. The tincture is used as a hemostatic, appetite stimulant and digestive normalizer. It is also used for helminthic infestations.The tincture increases the strength of blood flow, slows down heart contractions, lowers tone and relieves spasms of intestinal smooth muscles. It is ideal for the complex treatment of hypertension and its pharmacological properties are not inferior to valerian tincture.
Skullcap extract
The herb extract has a healing and hemostatic effect; its use is advisable for non-healing wounds and bleeding gums. Postoperative sutures heal especially well. The medicinal drug lowers cholesterol levels in the blood, reduces the likelihood of blood clots, is an excellent protection against various viruses and infections, and also improves the functioning of the stomach and intestines, and helps eliminate constipation.The product stimulates the formation of collagen and elastin and improves skin elasticity. Displaying anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, the extract improves metabolic processes in the dermis and accelerates the process of cell renewal.
Baikal skull cap
The plant is found in the Far East, Mongolia, and Transbaikalia. It chooses mainly steppes, dry rocky and clayey slopes for its habitat.
This herbaceous plant is harvested for medicinal purposes in the fall. When dried at 40 degrees, numerous flavonoids found in the plant are preserved, such as baicalin, baicalein, oroxylin A, wogonin, scutelarin and others. Herbal decoctions and infusions are also saturated with tannins, steroids, coumarins, resins and essential oils.
It is known that the older the plant, the stronger its active ingredients.
Various medical sources mention the use of skullcap Baikal for uterine and other internal bleeding. Indications for use of the root may include bloody vomiting, coughing up blood, nosebleeds, dyspepsia, epilepsy, acute rheumatism, whooping cough.
Common skullcap
Common skullcap is a perennial herbaceous plant with opposite, oblong-lanceolate leaves with wide, blunt serrations and two-lipped, bluish-purple flowers. This species grows in the regions of the European part of Russia and the Caucasus.The herb contains the glycoside scutellarin, which lowers blood pressure and reduces the excitability of the nervous system. For bronchitis and tuberculosis, the common skullcap thins thick mucus, allowing the bronchi and lungs to get rid of it. The plant has diuretic, astringent and hemostatic properties.
Infusion of common skullcap: 1 teaspoon of fresh or dry herb must be poured with 250 ml of boiling water, leave for 1 hour, strain. Take the resulting medicine 1-2 tablespoons 3-4 times a day.
Altai skullcap
The habitats of the Altai skullcap are rocky slopes and pebbles in the regions of Siberia and the Altai Territory. The plant has a long root, the stems are ascending, erect, and pubescent. The oval leaves are rounded at the base, heart-shaped, crenate-toothed along the edge, pubescent below and above with appressed hairs. The flowers are green or slightly purple. The plant has the same qualities as other species.In folk medicine, Altai skullcap is used as a tonic and sedative. It is recommended to take it for palpitations, myocarditis, pulmonary diseases, and colds, since the roots of the plant have a softening, expectorant and antipyretic effect.
Contraindications to the use of skullcap
This plant is not a panacea for all diseases, it is not a medicine, so infusions and decoctions from it can be taken during complex therapy after medical consultation. The herb is contraindicated for children under 12 years of age, pregnant women, nursing mothers and those with individual intolerance.Skullcap is a perennial, less often annual, herbaceous plant, which is a low-growing shrub or subshrub. It has erect stems, rather branched, tetrahedral. It tends to become woody at the base (root zone). The arrangement of lanceolate leaves on the stem is opposite with short roots.
In gardening you can find another name for the flower - scutellaria. The flower of this plant is especially unusual. Skullcap is considered an ancient genus of plants, therefore it has a large number of species, many of which were bred through crossing, and all in order to obtain as many benefits as possible, both aesthetic and medicinal.
Varieties and types
(bell-shaped ) is a perennial with a thin whitish rhizome, solitary stems, practically unbranched, 25-35 cm high, bare or with short hairs. Leaves are up to 2 cm long, oval-oblong in shape. The flowers are located one at a time in the axils of the upper leaves. They are short, fluffy calyxes that are purple on the tops and greenish underneath.
– is considered a highly decorative species. It has a rather thick root, a branched stem, bare or with slight pubescence on the ribs and with densely planted leaves (hard, one might say fleshy, on short petioles, also bare or with slight pubescence). The flowers are collected in dense cups located at the tops of the shoots. The calyxes have dense pubescence along the edges with a purple tint, while the corolla is blue, and the outer part is pale purple, almost white.
(holly ) is a subshrub with creeping and sometimes ascending roots. The lower part of the stem is woody. The leaves are oval, oblong and have a long petiole. The flowers are large (2-4 cm), located at the top of the stem in dense capitate inflorescences.
– has a woody root, branched stems, triangular-oval leaves with deep serrations. The flower has a yellow-green calyx, with a pink-violet border on one side (upper lip).
– is considered a highly decorative species. The stems are long (up to 30 cm tall), slightly drooping and woody at the base. The flowers are yellow, with possible variants with red spots on one of the parts (on the lower or upper lip of the bell), or pure yellow and pure red. The leaves are grayish-green with distinct jagged edges.
Skullcap planting and care in open ground
For favorable flowering and growth, it is advisable to plant the plant in a sunny area, avoiding places where scorching sun rays may fall at lunchtime. As for growing in dark areas, it was noticed that the inflorescences of such plants are much smaller.
When preparing a site for planting, care must be taken to ensure that the soil is light (neutral), moisture- and breathable (provide drainage and loosening). These conditions are especially important in the case of growing medicinal varieties of skullcap, the rhizome of which is used as a raw material. Heavy and wet soil can cause root rot.
Melissa is also a member of the Lamiaceae or Lamiaceae family, grown when planted and cared for in open ground and also has medicinal properties. You can find all the necessary recommendations for growing and caring for this wonderful plant in this article.
Fertilizer for skullcap
In addition, such species require sufficient amounts of nutrients. For example, the first fertilizer is applied in the fall, before sowing the area for sowing. Composition: one bucket of compost (or one and a half buckets of humus) per square meter, adding two more glasses of ash (wood). Having distributed this mixture evenly over the area, you need to dig up the soil onto the bayonet of a shovel.
If it is known that the earth has high acidity, then you can add a little dolomite flour to neutralize it. Subsequent fertilizing is carried out already during the growing season. In the spring, fertilize with nitrogen fertilizers (or organic, even better).
For example, you can prepare a solution from chicken droppings or mullein and pour it right to the root, and then add clean water. Another feeding is carried out already during the period of bud setting. In this case, potassium-phosphorus fertilizers are suitable.
It is worth considering that excessive application of nitrogen fertilizer stimulates the growth of the aerial part of the skullcap, but at the same time the rhizome suffers (is inhibited). This again negatively affects dosage forms. It would be a good idea to feed growth stimulants to those types of medicinal skullcap that use roots as raw materials. An excellent option is to use fertilizing in the form of a solution of bird droppings.
Watering skullcap
Skullcap is considered a drought-resistant plant, so there is no need for frequent watering. It is watered only during periods of prolonged drought.
Wintering of skullcap
Frost resistance is another advantage of this plant. Shelter for the winter is not required. But there are some nuances.
So, for example, when growing in the northern regions, it is better not to prune the above-ground part, this way it will better survive severe frosts, and pruning can be done in the spring.
But in the southern regions, the above-ground part can be cut off in the fall, leaving something like small stumps, 6-7 cm high.
After flowering has finished, you can begin collecting seeds and digging up roots. The seeds are used for repeated propagation, and the roots are dried in the oven at a temperature of 50-60°C and stored in sealed bags or jars until use.
If the plant serves as a decorative plant, then it is not dug up, but left to overwinter. Pruning of the aboveground part is carried out in the spring.
Baikal skullcap growing from seeds
There are two ways to grow skullcap: dividing the bush and sowing seeds. But the choice of method also depends on the type. For example, the Baikal skullcap reproduces only by seeds, since its roots lie too deep and it is not possible to carefully remove it without damaging it. This species is also difficult to tolerate transplantation.
Sowing is carried out in early spring (mid-March), but first the seeds must undergo stratification. They are placed in a bag and transferred to the refrigerator for the winter. The easiest way is to sow the area in the same fall, after collecting the seeds, this way natural stratification will occur over the winter and in the spring, after the temperature rises, friendly shoots will begin to appear.
Since the seeds are very small, it is enough to sow them directly on top of the moistened substrate (without deepening), compact them a little and sprinkle them with sand.
A little hint! To ensure good density of seedlings, it is necessary to add a little granulated superphosphate to the soil along with the seeds.
Caring for Scutellaria seedlings
As for preparing the site for planting in open ground, you need to take care of adding compost to the soil in the fall (during spring planting).
At first, the soil should be moistened frequently. But this only applies to sowing; an adult bush does not require such an amount of watering. Once a week is enough for this drought-resistant plant. Otherwise, you can cause the rhizome to rot.
The first shoots can please the eye in just a couple of weeks, and after another week the first leaves will begin to hatch. The budding phase begins after 40-50 days, and full flowering occurs almost three months after the appearance of the first shoots.
Caring for a plant during the growing season consists of four mandatory points: loosening the soil around the bush, removing weeds, moderate watering and fertilizing. It is worth considering that herbicides should be excluded when growing medicinal plants.
Reproduction of skullcap by dividing the bush
Bush division occurs in ornamental species. To do this, the bush must be removed from the ground without damaging it, divided into the number of parts in which each division will have a good portion of roots and stems.
After which they are planted at a distance of at least 30-40 cm from each other, due to the rapid growth of the rhizome.
Skullcap propagation by cuttings
Cuttings in tuberous species are also possible. To do this, you will need cuttings about 10-12 cm in height, which are separated from the adult plant in the spring and rooted. But this is the least effective way.
Diseases and pests
But the most dangerous disease is rot , which can destroy most of the plant beyond the possibility of recovery. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain moderate watering and carry out preventive treatment of the area before planting.
Baikal skullcap medicinal properties and contraindications
Skullcap has been grown since ancient times, and during this period a large number of beneficial properties have been discovered that have a positive effect in the treatment of many diseases.
The roots of the plant have a large amount of biologically active substances with antioxidant properties (flavonoids), tannins, essential oils, starch, alkaloids and much more. Those. the range of applications is extensive. T
For example, flavonoids are responsible for stimulating the production of collagen and elastin, which is so necessary for mature facial skin, as it increases elasticity. For this reason, skullcap is often included in many creams. It also promotes better penetration of other beneficial components of the cream into the skin.
How not to grow skullcap in your garden, which will give beauty during the growing season, and in the fall will serve as a home doctor. To do this, you need to dig up the roots, dry them, and you can prepare medicinal tinctures, decoctions, and ointments.
Description and features of the skullcap
Skullcap from the Lamiaceae family, it looks small up to 0.6 meters in length. The shoots are erect or erect with serrated, almost leathery leaves.
In the photo there is a Costa Rican skull cap
Depending on the species, the inflorescences can be purple, yellow, red, or blue. The buds are small, collected in a panicle, with two lips, one of them looks like a helmet.
Skullcap roots branched ones are used in the form of medicinal raw materials. The optimal time for collection is autumn. During this period, the maximum amount of microelements, vitamins, essential oils, and resins accumulates.
Thanks to their content, the following are revealed: medicinal properties of skullcap: diuretic, antiasthmatic, expectorant, histamine, choleretic, antitumor. Complex treatment is not complete without Scutellaria applications diseases such as:
anthrax;
flu;
nephritis;
pneumonia;
diabetes;
cholera;
meningitis;
pulmonary tuberculosis;
dyspnea.
In the photo, indoor skullcap
The root is used in the manufacture of drugs that help fight the thyroid gland, tumors, and metastases. As part of external remedies, it helps get rid of allergic dermatoses and skin diseases. Scutellaria grass is the most effective natural stimulant.
Planting and propagation of skullcap
Skullcap is considered an unpretentious plant, but it is better to grow it in light, slightly alkaline, rocky, nutritious soil. grow in sun and partial shade. It all depends on the species. Grow skullcap You can do it from seeds, by dividing the bush, or by layering.
The rhizomes are ready for dividing the bush already in 2-3 years. These include spear-leaved, alpine, tall, Sivers, Khitrovo skullcap. The bush is uprooted in the spring and divided into parts so that each section has buds. The separated parts are planted in a permanent place. Treat the cuttings with ash before planting.
Scutellaria Sievers and Alpine are well propagated by layering. Reproduction begins in June. The side shoot is bent into the prepared groove and pinned. The top of the head remains on the surface.
Alpine skullcap in the photo
Throughout the summer, water the pinned area and free it from weeds. Next spring, the cuttings are well rooted, then they are separated from the mother bush and planted to grow independently.
Some species can reproduce by dividing the bush only at 10 years of age. This is explained by the shape of the rhizome, in the form of a rod. These include broad-scaled, Crimean, large-flowered, and Baikal skullcap.
These species are best propagated by seed. Germination skullcap from seeds largely depends on the rest of the species. Dormancy can be reduced by seed stratification and growth stimulator before planting.
The seeds are scattered on the ground along with superphosphates, and sprinkled with river sand on top. After 21 days, shoots will appear. Small planting material is retarded in growth due to crust in the soil.
It is important to monitor its condition and water and loosen it on time. Sowing carried out in April will produce one shoot in the first year. Next year will be marked by bushiness and first flowering.
Baikal skull cap
Species varieties are propagated by stem cuttings. Place the cuttings in a tablet. The branches are on the street. As soon as the roots grow through the tablet, the cutting along with the tablet is sent into open ground.
Skullcap care
The bushes love abundant watering, especially during the period of bud formation.
Remove weeds along with the root system.
Loosen the soil after weeding.
They respond well to organic matter in the spring. During the formation of inflorescences, add minerals. The third feeding is done after flowering. To support the vascular system.
Remove faded buds and dried leaves.
Rejuvenate old bushes by dividing and replanting them.
Do autumn pruning not to the base of the ground, but to 2/3 of the entire length of the bush. This way it will winter better.
They do not take shelter for the winter.
Types and varieties of skullcap
The genus of the Lamiaceae family, to which skullcaps belong, has 360 species. Scientists are divided on the classification of skullcap. The most famous and used: Baikal, highest, ordinary, Mongolian, Altai, spear-leaved skullcap. They are widely used in traditional, folk medicine, and landscape design.
On the photo is the Baikal skullcap
Baikal skull cap in nature it grows on clay and rocky slopes of the Far East, China, and Japan. collected in a panicle of purple color along the edge and blue color inside. The branched root produces several shoots ending in peduncles.
The root is rich in tannins, flavonoids, starch, magnesium, potassium, manganese, iodine, zinc. Skullcap tincture based on them, it relieves intestinal spasms, lowers tone, reduces heart rate, and eliminates internal bleeding.
Flowers accompany us everywhere. A cute bouquet of daisies on the dining table, a lush multicolored flowerbed at the entrance to a school or office, a bright flower bed in the country, a solitary planting on a mowed lawn in a recreation park. But flowers attract us not only with their bright colors, unusual shapes and wonderful aromas. In addition to beauty, they give health. Almost all flowering plants are medicinal plants. Skullcaps from the Lamiaceae family also belong to such plants.
Baikal skull cap (Scutellaria baicalensis). © Nick Eberle
Skullcap as a medicinal plant was first mentioned in Tibetan treatises 2500 years ago. Since ancient times, skullcap has been used as a hemostatic agent, and later began to be used against a large list of diseases in the folk and official pharmacopoeia.
In the Lamiaceae family, skullcaps are classified as a separate genus Skullcap (Scutellaria), the species representative of which is common skull cap(Scutellaria galericulata). The same species is found under the names rooster skullcap and cap-bearing skullcap due to the peculiar shape of the upper petal of the zygomorphic flower. Translated from Latin, common skullcap means “hat made of animal skin,” and popularly the skullcap grass is called motherwort, field or blue St. John’s wort, babka, pickle grass, heart grass, blue flower and others.
The ancient origin has developed the skullcap's flexible adaptability to living conditions. Therefore, the genus of skullcaps occupies almost all continents except Antarctica. Species distribution covers narrower ranges. So, Baikal Skullcap(the only species used as a medicinal plant in official medicine) is found in natural thickets in Central Asia, Transbaikalia, Mongolia, China, and the Far East. The plants are mesophilic and grow in places with high humidity: next to wet meadows, in river floodplains, along the banks of various reservoirs, along the edges of damp forests and bushes. How beautifully flowering skullcap is often found in home and summer cottage areas.
Common skullcap, or cap-shaped skullcap, or rooster skullcap (Scutellaria galericulata). © Raino Lampinen Meet the skullcaps
Skullcaps are perennial plants; more than 400 species are common in nature. The root system is taprooted and branched. It goes deep into the soil up to 50 cm. Closer to the soil surface it gradually turns into a storage organ - a multi-headed vertical or creeping rhizome. The color of the rhizome at the break is yellow, the surface is brown or yellow-brown.
The aerial part of the skullcap is herbaceous or in the form of shrubs and subshrubs, no more than 60 cm in height. The stems are straight, tetrahedral, covered with sparse, harsh hairs, green, or less often, purple.
The leaves are of several shapes, from simple with rounded heart-shaped bases, to elongated with blunt tips. The color of skullcap leaves is very interesting, varying from dark to light green. Sometimes the upper and lower sides of the leaf blade, its edge design, and the location of the pubescence of hairs are colored differently. The length of the leaves is 2-7 cm, the arrangement is opposite. Leaves are sessile or on short pubescent petioles. Scutellaria flowers have bract leaves.
Scutellaria flowers are zygomorphic, located one at a time in the axils of the apical and middle leaves. The flowers are brought together into false whorls in pairs and collected in loose racemose-shaped inflorescences. Plants bloom from June to August. The petals of the corolla are of different colors - from white, light pink to lilac-blue, burgundy, red-blue, violet and bluish-violet. The corolla of the flower is tube-shaped, two-lipped. The upper lip of a zygomorphic flower has an original outgrowth or bend, characteristic of the entire genus. It resembles an ancient helmet, hence the name - skullcap. According to legend, skullcap is such a powerful hemostatic agent that it clots blood and stops bleeding even when used through a helmet or clothing.
The fruit of the skullcap is called coenobium and is represented by 4 nut-shaped fruitlets of an angular-ovoid shape, covered with small tubercles, bare or pubescent along the depressions with glandular hairs. The fruits ripen from July to September. Mature coenobium shoots nuts at the slightest touch, which promotes the spread of plants.
Alpine skull cap “Arcobaleno” (Scutellaria alpina ‘Arcobaleno’). © Joseph Tychonievich 
Eastern skullcap (Scutellaria orientalis). © mustafa ulukan 
Heart-leaved skullcaps (Scutellaria cordifrons). © CABCN Types of skullcaps for garden design
Skullcaps mainly belong to the group of dye plants. They do not have an exquisite aroma, but they look great as decorative flowering and decorative foliage in flower beds, ridges, mixborders and rock gardens. Scutellaria are effective in solitary plantings of mowed lawns and monoflower beds of different color compositions. They are unusually elegant in combination with lilies, large orange poppies, evening primrose, elecampane, gypsophila and other large beautifully flowering species of flowering plants.
For multi-color monobeds and in combination with other types of flowering plants, you can use Alpine skull cap (Scutellaria alpina) with white and white-pink flowers, Scutellaria cordifolia (Scutellaria cordifrons) with pink and Eastern skull cap (Scutellaria orientalis) with yellow flowers. Decorative Skullcap spearfolia (Scutellaria hastifolia) with light blue flowers and spear-shaped dark green leaves. Unusual Skullcap tuberiferous (Scutellaria tuberosa) And Costa Rican skullcap (Scutellaria costaricana) with bright blue and bright red flowers, respectively.
Spear-leaved skullcap (Scutellaria hastifolia). © Svetlana Nesterova 
Tuberous skullcap (Scutellaria tuberosa). © fractalv 
Costa Rican skull cap (Scutellaria costaricana). © mpshadow2003
Useful properties of skullcap
There are mainly two types used for medicinal purposes: Baikal skull cap (Scutellaria baicalensis) And Common skullcap (Scutellaria galericulata). The healing properties are due to their chemical composition and high content of chemicals that have a positive effect on the cure of more than 40 diseases. The raw materials for the medicinal collection are rhizomes, which contain large quantities of the following macro- and microelements: potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, cobalt, molybdenum, iodine and others. Rhizomes are rich in saponins, organic resins, flavonoids (baicalin, scutellarein, vogonin), coumarins, and tannins.
Combinations of rhizome ingredients have a high therapeutic effect in oncological diseases (slow down the growth of tumors, inhibit the formation of metastases), leukemia, support cardiac activity, normalize blood pressure, have a beneficial effect on the peripheral and central nervous system, regulate the functioning of the liver and gallbladder, and have a strong hemostatic effect in gynecological and external wound bleeding, anti-inflammatory and other diseases. At home, skullcap can be used for a long time as a herbal tea rich in microelements and vitamins.
Skullcap is classified as an allergic plant and a plant with toxic properties. Therefore, when taking homemade decoctions and tinctures, be sure to consult a doctor.
In pharmacies you can buy packaged dry root with rhizome, dry extract, alcohol tinctures. Skullcap is an integral part of many herbal preparations and preparations.
Baikal skull cap (Scutellaria baicalensis). © HEN-Magonza Growing skullcap
Baikal Scutellaria and Scutellaria vulgaris can be placed at the dacha in your plant medicine cabinet-medicinal bed, or these and other species can be used in the decoration of the site.
When growing skullcap to collect medicinal raw materials, it is better to place the plants in open sunny places, but without burning sun rays. Partial shade has virtually no effect on the development of plants, but causes a noticeable reduction in flowers, which reduces the decorativeness of plants.
Skullcaps are not demanding on soil and care. They are winter-hardy and drought-resistant. They do not have a depressing effect when grown together with other flowering crops. When growing, they prefer neutral, light soils, breathable, with a lot of organic matter.
Soil preparation and sowing
When preparing the soil for digging in the autumn for a flower bed or medicinal bed, you need to add a glass of dolomite flour or slaked lime, 0.5-1.0 bucket of humus (on heavy soils) and 30-40 g/m² of nitrophoska/nitroammophoska area.
Skullcaps can be sown or planted together with other plants when the frosts have passed and the soil has warmed up to +10..+12 °C. On average, this happens in April-May, depending on the climatic conditions of the region.
Watering and fertilizing skullcap
Plants are watered after germination, when the top soil crust has dried, and over time, watering is carried out only during prolonged dry weather.
During the growing season, skullcaps are fed twice when grown for medicinal raw materials. The first fertilizing is carried out with nitrogen fertilizer 25-45 g/sq.m. m or a working solution of any organic matter and the second - during budding with phosphorus-potassium fertilizer, respectively, 30 g of superphosphate and 20 g of potassium salt per square meter. m. When grown in a flower garden, fertilizing is carried out simultaneously with other plants, but is not overfed with nitrogen. With nitrogen abundance, skullcaps and other flowering plants develop biomass to the detriment of flowering.
Baikal skull cap (Scutellaria baicalensis). © Kor!An Reproduction of skullcap
Skullcaps reproduce best by seeds. Skullcaps bloom in the 2nd year. As an ornamental crop, in order to preserve maternal characteristics, skullcaps are propagated by dividing the rhizomes in the 3rd year. When vegetatively propagated by parts of the rhizome, there must be 1-2 renewal buds on each part. Considering that skullcaps have a taproot, they do not take root well when seedlings are transplanted. In the northern regions, skullcap plants are propagated by seedlings for flower beds. When propagated by seedlings, seedlings are planted directly into the soil or into peat-humus pots, and then planted in the soil along with the pots, at the age of 2–4 leaves. Plants transplanted at a later date die. Sowing and caring for seedlings is the same as for other plants.
In the northern regions, the above-ground mass is not cut off for the winter. In their natural state, skullcap plants overwinter better. They are pruned in the spring. In the southern regions, in the fall, stems are cut off at the level of 7-10 cm of stumps.
Cleaning of medicinal raw materials
When growing skullcap in a medicinal bed, the harvesting of medicinal raw materials is carried out in the 3rd - 4th year. Be sure to leave some of the plants for natural reproduction and the next collection is carried out no earlier than 5 years.
Common skullcap (Scutellaria galericulata). © Paula Reedyk
Processing and storage
Carefully dug up rhizomes with roots are cleared of soil, and the above-ground part is cut off. The rhizome itself is divided into separate parts of 5-7 cm and immediately placed for drying. Dry in ovens at a temperature of +40..+60 °C. When drying, monitor to ensure that the raw materials do not become moldy. The suberized layer of dried raw materials is removed and placed in bags made of natural fabrics or in wooden (“breathable”) containers. The shelf life of raw materials is 3 years.
At home, you can use alcohol tincture and decoctions of rhizomes. Be sure to consult a physician before use.
Scutellaria (Scutellaria) (or literally “hat made of animal skins”) has been known to people for almost three millennia, and now this beautifully flowering plant often lives in summer cottages. What names does it not have? This includes queenwort, field St. John's wort, heart grass and others.
Species diversity of skullcap
Various types of short and tall skullcap can be found everywhere. They prefer to settle near water, on the edges of forests, in bush thickets, and on mountain meadows. Read more about its most famous and interesting types.
Scutellaria grandiflora
Skullcap grandiflora - S. grandiflora (low-growing species) here grows in Siberia and Altai on rocky soil. This is a pubescent subshrub with a fleshy root and far-spreading lilac branches up to 20 cm in height. Its leaves are small, oval and jagged, looking from a distance like gray-green felt.
Tetrahedral flowers - large (up to 4 cm), hairy, purple or light purple appear from June to September. They are spectacular and decorative.
Application of skullcap (video)
Baikal skull cap
Baikal skullcap - S. baicalensis is found in the Far East, Siberia and Buryatia on rocky steppe soils. This is tall decorative and the only medicinal species of St. John's wort with a fleshy root and several wide, up to half a meter high, stems. They are hairless or slightly hairy. The leaves are oval, hard, also pubescent, sitting on short stalks.
Two-centimeter flowers are densely arranged on the racemes. They are usually bicolored - violet-blue, and bloom in the second half of summer. Its numerous varieties have been cultivated for almost two hundred years.
Alpine skull cap
Alpine skullcap - S. alpina is found in the south of Siberia. It is a low-growing, perennial species, up to 20 cm high, with heart-shaped, pubescent leaves. White-purple flowers appear in late spring. The plant chooses alkaline soils. Cultivated for more than four centuries. Varieties with light, pink, tricolor, contrasting and white-turquoise corollas are known. It is grown as a pot crop and on alpine hills next to other species.
Eastern skull cap
Eastern skullcap - S. orientalis - low-growing, decorative. Found in Transbaikalia. It has 15 species over a wide range. It is small in stature, long shoots almost spread along the ground. The leaves are grey-green, jagged, oval in shape.
The yellow three-centimeter flowers have a reddish tint in places. There are red and pink varieties. Flowers appear in June. The plant loves well-drained alkaline soils.
Skull cap (common)
Skull cap - S. galericulata grows in the Caucasus, Siberia, the Far East and Kamchatka. This tall species, growing to almost a meter, considered a perennial weed. The creeping rhizome produces a single red-purple stem. The leaves are triangular or heart-shaped, pubescent.
The two-centimeter flowers have a red-violet-blue color and are shaped like a cap. This plant is not decorative.
Scutellaria aculata (squat)
The squat skullcap - S. supina - is known in Siberia, Khakassia, and the Altai Territory. Tall subshrub up to half a meter tall. Loves high mountain slopes, found in valleys and steppe meadows. The leaves are oval, toothed, oblong. The flowers are large (over 3 cm), hairy, yellow. They appear in June on the upper stems in the second year after planting.
Skullcap the highest
The tallest skullcap - S. altissima - is a tall species common in oak forests of the European part of the country, in the north-east of Ukraine and the Caucasus. Also loves the slopes of ravines and ravines, and coastal bushes. Named for its high (up to one and a half meters) growth. The stem is erect and bare. The leaves are large, ovate or heart-shaped.
Flower brushes are one-sided, with long corollas. Their color is bluish-violet, and almost white below. This famous honey plant blooms from late spring.
Mongolian skull cap
Mongolian skullcap - S. mongolica - tall, grows in Siberia and Tuva. Likes to live on calcareous rocks, along coastal steep mountains, on sandstones and near railway lines.
It has a creeping or branched powerful root, many pubescent stems up to 35 cm high. The leaves are oval-oblong, toothed, and small. The flowers are lilac, blue, violet or light blue.
Sievers' skullcap
Sievers' skullcap - S. sieversii - a low-growing species, inhabiting Central Asia and the Krasnoyarsk Territory on rocky soils. The thick root produces many 20-centimeter stems with edges. Small oval, toothed leaves with a felt edge sit on long branches. Large (up to 6 cm) flowers are light yellow, sometimes purple, with a green spot below. The plant blooms all summer.
Places of growth, terms and rules for collecting Baikal skullcap
This healing type of “heart herb” grows here in the Irkutsk and Chita regions, in the Far East on river banks and rocky mountain slopes. For medicinal purposes, the roots are used, less often - grass and flowers. Rhizomes are collected in the first half of autumn, and flowers and grass - in June and July.
The roots are dug up and, having been cleared of soil, dried in the shade and dried at temperatures up to 50 degrees. Then the top soft layer is separated. They can be stored for 3 years. Recently, the distribution area of the medicinal plant has been noticeably shrinking, so raw materials are collected in one place no more than once a decade. In this case, mature plants with 5-6 stems are selected, leaving at least three specimens on an area of 10 square meters.
Beneficial properties of Scutellaria baicalensis root and extract
Baikal skullcap root contains about a hundred biologically active compounds and trace elements(flavonoids, coumarins, pyrocatechins, saponins, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, iodine, copper and others). Thanks to the complex effects of its constituent components, this plant is used in the treatment of more than 40 diseases. And in terms of its therapeutic effects, it can perhaps be compared with the unique Chinese relict tree Ginkgo Biloba. This is truly the root of health.
Baikal skullcap extract, made from the roots of a medicinal plant, is effective in the treatment of oncology, leukemia, heart disease, and helps with problems with the liver and gall bladder. Its hemostatic properties are used in gynecology and for healing extensive wounds.
The composition of the domestic drug "Relaxen" - a remedy for insomnia, neuroses, fatigue, overwork and to normalize the functioning of the heart and blood vessels - includes extracts of skullcap and hops. According to reviews from those who are familiar with it, these tablets or capsules save you from panic attacks during stress and help you relax with chronic fatigue and insomnia.
Varieties of skullcap (video)
Benefits of herbs and plant flowers
The herb and flowers of the “mother plant” are used for bleeding gums, constipation, neuroses, and toxicosis of pregnant women. This is an effective antipyretic for colds and also helps with headaches. The herb is known to be used for bronchitis and pneumonia, it also acts as a mild sedative.
The healing infusion of skullcap is prepared as follows:
- Pour a teaspoon of herb into a thermos with a glass of boiling water.
- Leave for a couple of hours and strain.
- Take a spoon before each meal at least 4 times a day.
You can brew skullcap flowers and herbs and drink them as vitamin tea. It's good to add a spoonful of honey to it.
Contraindications and precautions
The plant has few contraindications:
- allergic reactions to its components;
- low blood pressure.
Before making infusions, tinctures and decoctions from it, it is better to consult a doctor. You should also know that in older plants the concentration of active substances is higher. Therefore, they must be used with caution.
Growing Scutellaria baicalensis from seeds
Skullcap loves sunny places; in the shade the flowers become smaller. When grown from seeds, sowing is carried out no earlier than the end of April. Preparation and sowing technique are as follows:
- A couple of months before, the seeds are stratified at almost zero temperature, placing them in a box with calcined sand.
- Before sowing, the soil is loosened and furrows are made in it at intervals of 30 cm.
- The seeds are immersed in the soil to a centimeter depth, covered with soil and watered.
- After a couple of weeks, shoots appear. They need to be weeded and loosened.
- After watering, the soil around young plants is mulched with peat or humus.
- When several leaves appear, the plants with a clod of earth are replanted.
- Then water with root.
Skullcap in garden decor
The following types of “heart grass” are used for decorative purposes:
- alpine (pink, white);
- cordifolia (pink);
- eastern (yellow);
- spear-leaved (blue with dark leaves);
- tuberous (bright blue);
- Costa Rican (bright red).
They are planted singly and with other flowers in flower beds; they fit perfectly into alpine hills. Their combination with huge lilies, bright poppies, golden elecampane, white cinquefoil, yellow evening primrose, and soft pink gypsophila looks impressive.
Useful properties of skullcap root (video)
Skullcap or heart grass is an unpretentious plant that has been well known since ancient times. Almost all of its forms are decorative and grown in garden plots. And Baikal skullcap is considered a remedy for many diseases; this plant with beautiful purple-blue flowers can replace a pharmacy.
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