3. Scutellaria galericulata L. (marsh skullcap)

S. epilobiifolia A. Ham.

Pl. 442 e, f; Map 1994

Plants with slender, inconspicuous rhizomes and/or stolons. Stems 20–80 cm long, erect or ascending, unbranched or few- to several-branched, glabrous or sparsely pubescent with short, downward-curved, nonglandular hairs. Leaves sessile or the lower leaves with petioles to 4 mm long. Leaf blades 1–4 cm long, mostly 2–4 times as long as wide, oblong-lanceolate to narrowly ovate, broadly rounded to truncate or shallowly cordate at the base, sharply pointed at the tip, the margins with shallow, usually rounded teeth, the upper surface glabrous, the undersurface moderately to densely pubescent with short, curved, nonglandular hairs, also with sessile glands. Inflorescences of axillary flowers, these 2 per node, solitary in the axils of the upper foliage leaves. Calyces 3–4 mm long, becoming closed and enlarged to 4–6 mm at fruiting, the outer surface densely pubescent with short, curved, nonglandular hairs. Corollas 15–25 mm long, densely pubescent with short, spreading, nonglandular hairs on the outer surface, blue or white, the lower lip with a white patch and purplish blue spots or mottlihng toward the base, the tube S-shaped (bent upward just above the calyx and strongly curved or oblique at or above the throat), with a ring of hairs in the throat, the lateral lobes not well-developed, ascending, the lower lip broadly fan-shaped to more or less semicircular, slightly irregular and sometimes slightly notched along the margin. Nutlets 1–4 per calyx, 1.2–1.6 mm long, more or less globose, the surface yellowish brown, densely covered with rounded tubercles, sometimes also with sessile glands. 2n=30, 32. June–September.

Uncommon, sporadic in the northern half of the state (nearly throughout the U.S. [including Alaska but excluding some southewastern states]; Canada, Greenland, Europe, Asia). Marshes and fens.

The stems of this species often are relatively weak and supported by the surrounding vegetation. Although the flowers are showy, they tend to be produced sparsely and the plants thus are easily overlooked.

The name S. epilobiifolia was adopted by some botanists to distinguish North American plants from those in the Old World. However, Epling (1942) studied a large set of specimens and determined that there were no discrete morphological differences between populations in the Old and New Worlds. This situation may need to be revisited, as Old World plants appear to have a different chromosome number (2n=30) than those in North America (2n=32).