💊 Skullcap
🍴 Edible Parts
🤝 Companions (7)
⚠️ Keep Apart (3)
💊 Medicinal Uses
Premier nervine tonic and antispasmodic. Rich in baicalin, baicalein, and wogonin — flavonoids that modulate GABA-A receptors. Used for nervous tension, anxiety, insomnia, muscle spasms, and withdrawal from benzodiazepines. Gentle enough for long-term use. Traditionally combined with valerian for sleep.
📜 History & Traditional Uses
Used by Cherokee and other Native American tribes for menstrual issues and nervous conditions. Adopted by 19th-century Eclectic physicians as a primary nervine. Called 'mad-dog skullcap' historically for a reputed (but unproven) use for rabies. Listed in US Pharmacopeia 1863–1916.
📝 Notes
Not to be confused with Chinese skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis), which has different properties. Harvest aerial parts during early flowering for highest flavonoid content. Spreads by rhizomes in moist conditions. Tolerates partial shade well — excellent woodland-edge herb.