Journal of Plant Development (Dec 2009)
SCUTELLARIA GENUS – POSSIBILITIES FOR USE OF SPECIES AS FLORAL AND MEDICINAL CROP
Abstract
Out of 350 species of Scutellaria found in the world, 90 species are reported from North America and 8 are native from Romania, but only three (S. altissima L., S. galericulata L., S. hastifolia L.) are very common. It is known under popular name Skullcap.Scutellaria species have been used in the traditional medical systems of China, Korea, India, Japan, many European countries, and North America. Medicinal plants have been used as traditional remedies for hundreds of years; it is used as an anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, febrifuge, nervine, sedative and a strong tonic in alternative medicine. In medicinal purpose are use the roots and rhizome which contain flavonoids, starch, tanning substances, and other organic substances. They are perennial plant growing between 15-100 cm, belong to Lamiaceae family. It is in flower from June to September, and the seeds ripen from July to September, but can be dried for later use. Each stem only has a few flowers open at any one time. The blue to lavender flowers are two lipped. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by bees. At University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, we are working on introduction in our germplasm collection and study the behavior of some Scutellaria species, because in Romania it is no cultivate, growing only spontaneous or in collections of the Botanical gardens. Our research in all these areas will be presented and discussed.
