Skunk Cabbage – FranLaff.com

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Common Name

Skunk Cabbage

Scientific Name

Symplocarpus foetidus

More Clues to ID

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.

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Learn about this species:

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.

Image Credits

Cephas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Fralambert, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Fralambert, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
R. A. Nonenmacher, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Cephas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
R. A. Nonenmacher, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Fritzflohrreynolds, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Cephas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo by and (c)2016 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Pssst…

Did you know that this and other species are waiting their turns to be added to Fran’s FREE online courses, like the PLANTS course, or the BIRDS course?

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