It grows on sunny slopes, up to 2,500 m (8,000 ft), in mountain pastures and in nearby screes. It prefers limestone locations. Perennial rosettes of small oval leaves with crenellated margins grow from the radiating and recumbent stems. A cluster of purplish blue flowers with some white start blooming in June. They last until August. As befits this plant family, S. alpina shows four-fold symmetry: square section of the stem, quadrangular shape of the flower cluster. Each stem grows from a terminal bud, by about 15 cm (6 in) by
the time the flowers bloom.
A small brown and round bowl grows on the back of the chalice. It hollows out into a bowl, scutella in Latin, which explains the name of the plant. At the end of summer, the flower cluster turns into a stand for tiny plates, terracotta-colored.
The curved tube of the corolla opens with two lips: the upper shaped as a purplish blue helmet, the lower one comparable to a light blue or white shield.
Within Lamiaceae the genus Scutellaria is both widespread and diverse. With 400-500 species worldwide, these herbaceous shrubs, commonly known as skullcaps, are found from Siberia to the tropics of South America, the Rocky Mountains of North America and Canada, on the islands of Japan, and throughout much of Europe and Asia; mostly in the northern hemisphere however.
Scutellaria have been used in many cultures against a variety of ailments, including cancers, hepatitis, cirrhosis, jaundice, anxiety and nervous disorders. One species, Scutellaria baicalensis, is one of the most widely prescribed plants in traditional Chinese medicine. Tibetan medicine includes 42 known recipes that include S. baicalensis in addition to other plants.
20 phenolic compounds were isolated from S. alpina. These, flavones in particular, account for the pharmacological activity: antitumor, anti-angiogenesis, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, anticonvulsant, antibacterial and antiviral activities. Hairy roots produce antiviral flavones.