This humble plant is easily overlooked, both in its quiet early blooming and later leaf unfurling. You can find it in wetlands and riverine forests in the NE quarter of the US, up into Canada.
The young leaves and rootstock of this plant have been used as food after being thoroughly dried to remove toxins. It was also used medicinally by Native Americans.
Breaking through snow and half-frozen mud, the red-purple skunk cabbage flower is usually speckled with light green and consists of a single shield-like spathe surrounding a cone-like spadix. Before these unique flower structures fade away, furled leaves poke up around them and begin to unfurl. By summer, skunk cabbage leaves can completely cover wide areas of wetland.
