Scutellaria mexicana – “Paper Bag Bush”

Also Known As: Bladder-Sage, Mexican bladdersage
Other Botanical Names: Salazaria mexicana
Family: Mint (Lamiaceae a.k.a. Labiatae)
Bloom Period: Mar-Jun
Form: Perennial deciduous shrub
Habitat: Sandy and gravelly soils
Leaves: Elliptic and sparse
Translation: “Scutellaria” is derived from the Latin word for “a small dish, tray or platter” and describes the appearance of the sepals when the fruit is forming after pollination; “mexicana” means “of Mexico”; “Salazaria” is named for Don José Salazar (1823-1892), a Mexican representative on the Mexican Boundary Survey of 1848-55.
Notes: The “paper bag” or “bladder” of the common name is a wildly inflated flower calyx inside of which the fruit forms, a feature that makes this plant unmistakably recognizable when in bloom. After they mature, they detach from the plant and are blown around by the wind, spreading seeds as they go.
Animal Associations: According to Jaeger, “little white-tailed desert ground squirrels climb in among the papery fruits and extract the seeds.”