This is part of the mint family and is a beautiful flowering plant in any garden setting as it is very unusual and showy. Unlike many perennials this will bloom the first year in the fall, with gorgeous blue or purple blooms for as long as three months before the blossoms to the very interesting hooded seed capsules. The bright yellow root is the healing property, and the plant must be at least two to three years old before you harvest some (not all). It is also known as the Chinese medicinal herb Huang-qin and can be traced back over 2,000 years.
It exhibits anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and gram-positive antibacterial activity in test-tube experiments. It was also shown to reduce symptoms with asthma, possibly by reducing airway injury and restoring mitochondrial function. Scutellaria baicalensis is an herb used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat a variety of conditions including anti-bacterical - against Staph (Staphylococcus aureus) epilepsy, hepatitis, infections, allergic reactions, is a diuretic, is tranquilizing, fever-reducing and is used in treating cancers. It often is used in combination with other botanicals as well. Some also feel that it is the answer in treating pandemics of avian flu - and if you are going to far off lands, it is a sure cure for dysentery, which is an important thing to remember.
