Barbated Skullcap

Scutellaria barbata, a cousin of Huang Qin but used whole (and not its root alone), is that small labiate with two-lipped blue-violet flowers which grows in the marshy zones of southern China.

Harvested in summer, dried whole in tufts, it keeps a slightly bitter savour and a green colour preserved by careful drying.

The classical companion of Bai Hua She She Cao in contemporary blends for constitutions of deep heat-poison.

Traditionally used to neutralise gatherings of Heat-poison, to ease the letting go of the fluids, and to absorb localised accumulations.

• Decoction: 15 to 30 g, simmer for 25 minutes
• Classic pairing: joined to Bai Hua She She Cao in equal parts, for long-standing constitutions of noxious Heat

To be avoided in cases of deficient Yang with deep cold. Women expecting a child: a practitioner’s advice (it acts on stagnation).