Horticultural selection of Scutellaria alpina, a perennial from the Lamiaceae family, this light-flowered form shares the same mountainous origins as the type species, found in rockeries and limestone screes of the European ranges, from the Pyrenees to the Caucasus.
It forms upright and generous clumps 10 to 20 cm in height, with well-branched stems bearing oval, crenate leaves of a bright green slightly rough texture. In full bloom, the clump is abundantly covered with dense terminal spikes, giving it a bushy and very floriferous appearance, clearly visible in the photos under cultivation conditions.
The bilabiate flowers have an upper lip of a very pale lilac to almost white, and a white lower lip, sometimes finely veined with violet. The persistent bracts, light green to slightly yellowish, pleasantly contrast with the whiteness of the flowers and give the spikes a bright and neat appearance, different from the more marked contrast of the type form. The photos clearly show this variation between individuals, some retaining a slight lilac tint on the upper lip.
In its natural habitat, the flowering of the type species extends from July to August. In cultivation, this selection blooms from June to August depending on exposure.
It is grown in full light, in well-drained soil, preferably limestone and rather poor. Easy and robust, it is suitable for sunny rockeries and walls, where it modestly reseeds itself. Its long flowering period and generosity make it a reliable plant to accompany more discreet species.