(Skullcap, Baical; Huang-qin, Scute Root) Herbaceous perennial. Native to the shores of Lake Baikal, Mongolia, Siberia, and the Chihli and Shantung provinces of China. The purple flowers are like schools of dolphin breaking through green waves in a summer sea. The part used in traditional Chinese medicine is the dried root.  Traditional usage (TCM): antiallergic, diuretic, hypotensive, antibacterial, antiviral, tranquilizing and fever-reducing, commonly used for treatment of dysentery, hepatitis, staph.  Source of flavones baicalin and wogonin.  This is one of the best Chinese plants to grow organically in America.