Common name:
Britton's skullcap
Family:
Scientific name:
Scutellaria brittonii
Main flower color:
Range:
Southeast Wyoming and central Colorado; small areas of New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas
Height:
Between 4 and 8 inches
Habitat:
Open slopes, dry woodland
Leaves:
Opposite, oblong, between 1 and 3 inches long
Season:
May to July
The trumpet-shaped flowers of scutellaria brittonii are formed of a narrow tube which widens towards the top, and opens to two lips, the upper narrow and hooded, the lower flared, and partly divided into three lobes. The tube is whitish around the base becoming blue or purple at the top. The center of the lower lip is crossed by a white or paler blue stripe. Flowers are between 1 and 1.5 inches long. Flowers usually form in pairs from the leaf nodes, and bloom in stages; the lower buds open first. The reddish-purple calyx has two lips of approximately equal size; the upper lip forms a transverse ridge at the base.
Leaves are narrowly oblong, and generally angled upwards. Leaf surfaces are crossed by a few prominent, lengthwise veins. Stems and leaves have a covering of short, soft hairs. Leaves grow at the base and along the stem.
Leaves are narrowly oblong, and generally angled upwards. Leaf surfaces are crossed by a few prominent, lengthwise veins. Stems and leaves have a covering of short, soft hairs. Leaves grow at the base and along the stem.
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