Scutellaria minor, the lesser skullcap, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae.

Scutellaria minor
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Scutellaria
Species:
S. minor
Binomial name
Scutellaria minor

Description

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Scutellaria minor grows to 25 centimetres (9.8 in) tall, with narrowly ovate leaves arranged oppositely.[1] Flowers are borne in the axils of the upper leaves; they have a pinkish purple corolla, 6–10 millimetres (0.24–0.39 in) long.[1]

Distribution and habitat

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Scutellaria minor has a southern temperate distribution in Europe.[2] It grows in wet heaths and open woodland on acidic soils. In the British Isles, it is restricted to southern and western areas, extending as far north as the Outer Hebrides.[1]

Taxonomy

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Scutellaria minor was first described in 1762 by William Hudson in his Flora Anglica. Hybrids with S. galericulata, known as Scutellaria × hybrida, sometimes occur where both parent species co-occur.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Clive A. Stace (2010). "11. Scutellaria L. – skullcaps". New Flora of the British Isles (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 621–511. ISBN 978-0-521-70772-5.
  2. ^ K. Walker (2002). "Scutellaria minor". In C. D. Preston, D. A. Pearman & T. D. Dines (ed.). New Atlas of the British and Irish Flora: An Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Britain, Ireland, The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-851067-3.
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