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Skullcap Root is the dried root of the Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, a plant in the Lamiaceae family. This product is mainly produced in Chengde, Qinglong, Pingquan, and Baoding in Hebei; Fenyang and Jincheng in Shanxi; Ningcheng, Jarud Banner, Duolun, and Wuchuan in Inner Mongolia; Hancheng and Linyang in Shaanxi; as well as various provinces in Northeast China. It is also produced in Henan, Shandong, Yunnan, and Guizhou. Among these, Shanxi has the largest production, while the highest quality is found in Chengde and northern Hebei.

Materia medica research suggests that the Skullcap Root used since the Han Dynasty has primarily been from the Scutellaria genus of the Lamiaceae family. The current mainstream medicinal use is Scutellaria baicalensis, which is mainly distributed in the northern provinces.

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Although according to the "Shuowen Jiezi," the characters "菳" and "芩" have distinct meanings, "菳, yellow 菳," as noted by Duan Yucai, refers to "the Skullcap Root used in medicine today." "芩, a type of grass," as Duan explains, is mentioned in the "Xiaoya": "The deer cry out, eating the wild 芩." The commentary states: "芩 is a type of grass." Lu Ji describes it as having stems like hairpins, leaves like bamboo, growing in low-lying, salty areas, and being a favorite food of cattle and horses. According to Lu, this is not the medicinal Skullcap Root. Xu Shen's character for yellow 菳 is derived from the radical for metal, while the character for wild 芩 in the poem is derived from the radical for now, clearly distinguishing the two. Other texts have confused them, which is incorrect. Duan Yucai's view is accurate, but regardless, by the early Eastern Han Dynasty, the medicinal name for Skullcap Root was already written as "Skullcap Root," as evidenced by the "Wuwei Medical Slips."

Skullcap Root has many aliases. In the "Bencao Jing," it is called "腐腸" (rotten intestine). The "Wu Pu" and "Bielu" also refer to it as "空腸" (empty intestine) and "內虛" (internal deficiency). The "Guangya" states: "黃文 (yellow pattern), 內虛 (internal deficiency), are Skullcap Root." According to Tao Hongjing: "The round ones are called '子芩' (child Skullcap Root) and are superior. The broken ones are called '宿芩' (old Skullcap Root), and their insides are often rotten, hence the name '腐腸' (rotten intestine). Only the deep-colored, solid ones are considered good." Skullcap Root is used medicinally for its root, which comes in two forms: "條芩" (strip Skullcap Root) and "枯芩" (withered Skullcap Root). Generally, roots from younger plants are conical, full, and solid, with a yellow interior and exterior, and a surface marked with sponge gourd-like netting. This is what Tao referred to as "子芩" (child Skullcap Root), and the name "黃文" (yellow pattern) also derives from this. Roots from older plants are larger, withered, or even hollow, with a brown interior. These are what Tao called "宿芩" (old Skullcap Root), and the aliases "腐腸" (rotten intestine), "空腸" (empty intestine), and "內虛" (internal deficiency) all stem from this. This confirms that the medicinal Skullcap Root has remained largely unchanged since the "Bencao Jing," primarily being from the Scutellaria genus of the Lamiaceae family.

The "Wu Pu" describes the Skullcap Root plant: "In February, it produces red-yellow leaves, arranged in pairs or quadruplets, with hollow or square-round stems, growing three to four feet tall. In April, it bears purple-red flowers, and in May, black fruits, with yellow roots." The "Xin Xiu" states: "The leaves are slender, arranged in pairs, growing in clusters, sometimes with a single stem." The "Bencao Tujing" records: "The seedlings grow over a foot tall, with stems as thick as chopsticks. The leaves grow in clusters from the ground, resembling Arnebia, about a foot high, sometimes with a single stem. The leaves are slender and green, arranged in pairs. In June, it produces purple flowers. The roots are as thick as Anemarrhena, four to five inches long, harvested in February and August, and dried in the sun." Based on the illustrations of "Yaozhou Skullcap Root" and "Luzhou Skullcap Root" in the "Zheng Lei," it can be generally concluded that Scutellaria baicalensis has consistently been the mainstream medicinal variety.

However, the ancient use of Skullcap Root does not seem to be of a single species. The Gangmu mentions that "Western Skullcap is mostly hollow and dark in color, while Northern Skullcap is mostly solid and deep yellow." The so-called "Western Skullcap" and "Northern Skullcap" should be classified based on their place of origin. The Northern Skullcap is likely the genuine product used today, while the Western Skullcap might be Scutellaria rehderiana Diels or Scutellaria amoena Wight. As for the Skullcap Root mentioned in Diannan Bencao, it is mainly produced in central Yunnan and is suspected to be Scutellaria amoena or Scutellaria likiangensis Diels.

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According to "Fan Zi Ji Ran": "Skullcap Root comes from Sanfu, and the yellow ones are good." Sanfu in the Han Dynasty refers to the vast area of central Shaanxi today; Bencao Jing and Bielu record the origin of Skullcap Root: "Grows in the valleys of Zigui and Yuanju," where Zigui is present-day Hubei Zigui, and Yuanju is Heze, Shandong; "Ji Zhu" states: "Now the best comes from Pengcheng, and Yuzhou also has it," both Pengcheng and Yuzhou are in Jiangsu; "Xin Xiu" mentions: "Now those from Yizhou, Lizhou, and Jingzhou are excellent, and those from Yanzhou are large and also good, known as Tunwei Qin," where Yizhou is present-day Yichang, Hubei, Lizhou is Fuxian, Shaanxi, and Jingzhou is Jingxian, Gansu; Bencao Tujing "Now they are found in Sichuan, Hedong, and near Shaanxi"; Zhiwu Mingshi Tukao says: "There are many in southern Yunnan, and local doctors do not take others"; "Yaowu Chuchan Bian" states: "They are produced in Shanxi, Zhili, and Rehe areas." In summary, from the Han and Wei dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties, Skullcap Root was produced in most provinces across the country except for South China.

From the perspective of medicinal evolution, Skullcap Root does not have a strong authenticity. The species Scutellaria baicalensis is distributed in various northern provinces. Relatively, Qianjin Yifang mentions Ningzhou (present-day Ningxian, Gansu) and Jingzhou (present-day Jingxian, Gansu), "Taiping Huanyu Ji" records Xiezhou (present-day Yuncheng, Shanxi) and Fangzhou (present-day Fangxian, Hubei), and "Zheng Lei" illustrates Luzhou (present-day Changzhi, Shanxi) and Yaozhou (present-day Yaoxian, Shaanxi) as producing Skullcap Root, which might serve as a basis for the construction of GAP bases for Skullcap Root medicinal materials.