mad-dog skullcap, Scutellaria lateriflora

Mad-dog skullcap is used in herbal medicine to calm us and put us to sleep. Flavonoids, phenolics, biacilin, wogonin, oroxylin A! Plants are full of chemicals, and why am I not more curious about them. Could have something to do with that organic chemistry class. But wogonin? That one made me wonder. And it turns out that wogonins do have a calming effect. So the next time we see this pretty small-flowered skullcap, should we bring a sprig home, steep it, and bottle it for any time we can't snooze? Or just read all this meandering a drop right off. Mad-dog skullcap grows mostly in woods in every state except HI, NV, UT, and WY, and in BC, NB, NF, NS, ON, PE, QC, and SK. Lenawee Co MI, 8/17/11. Mint family, Lamiaceae.