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Hoary skullcap

Scutellaria incana

Also called Downy skullcap

Hoary skullcap
Photo: Alex Abair, CC BY 4.0

Hoary skullcap is a North American perennial herb in the mint family, grown mainly as a native wildflower in woodland and meadow gardens. It does best in partial shade on well-drained soil and is valued for its purplish blue flowers.

Family
Lamiaceae (Mint family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Part shade, Shade
Water
Water regularly during establishment, then mainly in dry spells; avoid soggy soil.
Soil
Well-drained, moderately fertile loam or rocky woodland soil.
Temperature
Hardy in temperate climates, roughly USDA zones 4 to 8; tolerates winter cold.
How easy
Easy
Native range
NC. & E. U.S.A.
Climate
temperate

About

Scutellaria incana, the hoary skullcap or downy skullcap, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It is native to North America and is primarily found in the eastern United States as well as some parts of the Midwest.

Where it grows

The plant is native in the United States from Texas to the west, Florida to the south, Wisconsin to the north, and New York to the east. It can be found in mesic to mesic-dry, partially shady habitats, including upland forests, rocky woodland slopes, thinly wooded bluffs, rocky slopes along rivers, upland meadows in wooded areas, thickets, and along roadsides in woodlands.

Other Scutellaria plants

Alabama skullcap · Scutellaria alborosea · Alpine Scullcap · Nose skullcap · Florida scrub skullcap · Baikal Skullcap · Barbed Skullcap · Sierra skullcap · Scutellaria brachyspica · Britton's skullcap · California skullcap · Gulf skullcap

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Scutellaria incana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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