Botanical Name: Scutellaria lateriflora

Other Common Names of Skullcap: Blue, greater, hairy, hooded, american, european western, maddog and side-flowering skullcap. It has also been called helmet flower, blue pimpernel, quaker bonnet, hooded willow flower, mad-dog weed, mad weed, hoodwort or hoodwart.

Habitat: This herb is often found in partially shaded, wetland areas. It prefers light shade to full sun and wet to moist soil with plenty of organic matter. This perennial herb is native to North America and has been cultivated in Europe.

Plant Description: Skullcap grows to a height of 45 to 60 centimeters tall. It has a light green to reddish-green square stem with occasional branches. The leaves measure 7.5 centimeters long by 5 centimeters across and are coarsely serrated around the edges. The blue-lavender flowers are hooded, tube shaped and two-lipped. The upper lip forms a hood and the lower lip has two lobes. This plant blooms from May to August. The flowers are replaced by a two chamber seed pod containing 4 seeds. The roots system consists of a taproot and rhizomes.

Plant Parts Used: The flowers and the leaves of the plant are used for medicinal purposes.
Therapeutic and Tradtitional Uses, Benefits and Claims of Skullcap

* Skullcap was used by some Native American tribes as an emmenagogue to bring young girls into womanhood.
* It was also traditionally used to bring on visions (in large doses) during spiritual ceremonies.
* It was once used as a treatment for rabies and schizophrenia (hence the names maddog skullcap, maddog weed, and mad weed.)
* This plant is also a nervine with sedative qualities and is helpful in the treatment of many nervous conditions such as epilepsy, hysteria, anxiety, and delirium tremens. It has also been found useful in treating symptoms of withdrawal from barbiturates and tranquilizers.
* Medicinal infusions of this herb have been used to promote menstruation.
* An infusion of skullcap may also be helpful in treating throat infections and, due to its anti-spasmodic and sedative effects, it is also great for treating headaches from stress, neuralgia, and from incessant coughing.
* This herb can also be used to induce sleep naturally without the negative effects of many prescription and over-the-counter sleep aids.
* Skullcap is gaining some recognition as an alternative treatment for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).
* This plant is sometimes used to treat the symptoms associated with anorexia nervosa, fibromyalgia and even mild Tourette's syndrome.
* Skullcap is also used as a herbal treatment for asthma and as a hiccup and hangover remedy.

Dosage and Administration

Skullcap is available in powder or liquid extract form and as a dried herb. It is commonly sold in capsule form as well. The recommended dosage for adults is 1 to 2 grams of the dried herb, 2 to 3 cups of tea, 2 to 4 mL of the liquid extract three times daily, or 2 to 5 mL of the tincture three times daily. Skullcap may be used in children in small doses. The best method of delivery is a mild tea. The child's physician should be consulted before use. To make a medicinal tea try adding one pint of boiling water to 1 oz. of the dried herb and steep for 10 minutes. This can be served in ½ cup servings every few hours. For children, add 1 cup boiling water to 1 tsp. of dried leaves and steep only 2 minutes, to yield a milder tea.
Potential Side Effects of Skullcap

Overdose symptoms include giddiness, stupor, confusion, irregular heartbeat and twitching. This herb should not be used by women who are pregnant, since it may cause a miscarriage.

Some supplements have been tainted with plants of the Teucrium species, which have been shown to cause liver damage. It is important to seek skullcap from reputable sources.

There have been no documented cases of negative interactions with other herbs or medications, it does have a sedative effect and should not be combined with prescription sedatives.