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Key to families | Table of families and genera




Richard G. Olmstead

Perennial herb or shrub, generally hairy, occasionally glandular, from rhizomes or tubers. Stem: erect, branched or not. Leaf: basal and cauline; proximal generally petioled; distal cauline ± sessile. Inflorescence: flower 1–2 per leaf axil, or appearing as a bracted raceme. Flower: calyx 2-lipped, lips ± equal, enclosing nutlets, back of upper lip dome-like or transversely ridged, generally concave-depressed behind ridge; corolla 2-lipped, white to violet-blue, upper lip < lower, ± entire, hood-like, lower lip 3-lobed; stamens 4, pairs ± equal, enclosed by upper corolla lip, anthers ciliate, lower 2 1-chambered; disk below ovary generally green-yellow. Fruit: generally ovoid, generally minutely papillate, brown or black.
± 300 species: generally temperate worldwide. (Latin: tray, from calyx dome or ridge) [Olmstead 1990 Contr Univ Michigan Herb 17:223–265] Salazaria occasionally treated as separate genus.
Unabridged references: [Paton 1990 Kew Bull 45:399–450; Wagstaff et al. 1998 Plant Syst Evol 209:265–274]

Key to Scutellaria

1. Shrub; calyx lobes bladder-like in fruit; s East of Sierra Nevada, Desert — lateral branches rigid, tips spine-like in age ..... S. mexicana

1' Perennial herb; calyx lobes not bladder-like in fruit; widespread

2. Corolla white to pale yellow, lower lip occasionally blue- to violet-spotted

3. Distal cauline leaf blade crenate (entire), base truncate to ± lobed; stem hairs long, spreading; lower corolla lip blue-spotted ..... S. bolanderi

4. Corolla 12–14 mm; leaf length > 2 × width; San Bernardino Mountains, Peninsular Ranges, s Mojave Desert ..... subsp. austromontana

4' Corolla 15–19 mm; leaf length 1–2 × width; Sierra Nevada, Inner South Coast Ranges ..... subsp. bolanderi

3' Distal cauline leaf blade entire, base obtuse to wedge-shaped; stem hairs short, ascending or pointed down; lower corolla lip violet-spotted or not

5. Stem 1.5–4 dm, hairs appressed-ascending; ovary disk green-yellow; leaf blade ovate to oblong ..... S. californica

5' Stem < 2 dm, hairs pointed or curled down; ovary disk orange-red; leaf blade obovate to ± diamond-shaped ..... S. nana

2' Corolla blue to violet-blue, lower lip generally white-patched

6. Flowers generally > 4 in axillary or terminal racemes, bracted ..... S. lateriflora

6' Flowers 1, axillary, subtended by leaves

7. Upper calyx lip abaxially dome-like; fruit brown; generally wet habitats ..... S. galericulata

7' Upper calyx lip abaxially transversely ridged, ± concave behind ridge; fruit black; generally dry habitats

8. Stem, leaf hairs 1–3 mm, spreading; plants with tubers ..... S. tuberosa

8' Stem, leaf hairs << 0.5 mm, curled or appressed; rhizomes slender, tubers ± 0

9. Corolla 13–21 mm, hairs not gland-tipped; leaf length 2–3 × width ..... S. antirrhinoides

9' Corolla 25–35 mm, hairs gland-tipped; leaf length 3–7 × width ..... S. siphocampyloides

