| Do You Wonder Why It's Called Skunk
Cabbage? |
| Location: In woods north of
Child Development Center |
| Just crush one of its leaves
between your fingers to find out! This perennial plant, scientifically known as Symplocarpus foetidus, is the only species in the genus Symplocarpus. Skunk Cabbage grows in wet places throughout eastern North America, from Minnesota to Maine and south to Tennessee and North Carolina. There is a plant called Skunk Cabbage in the Pacific Northwest but it is Lysichitum americanum, and it has yellow spathes. All Skunk Cabbages are in the Family Araceae, the Arum Family. The large oval leaves grow in clumps and are smooth, soft, yellowish green and very attractive to the eye, but not so attractive to the nose when they become damaged! The leaves are poisonous to all mammals who would eat them. The flowers are produced in February and March and are the first of the Spring wildflowers in our area. They are very small and are closely arranged on a short stalk called a spadix. The spadix is surrounded by a modified leaf-like hood called a spathe. The spathe is a deep burgundy color splotched with green. It is shaped like a snail shell and found at ground level before the leaves emerge. This flower can survive the colder temperatures and attract pollinators in this winter season due to its ability to raise its own temperature to prevent frost damage. Biologist Roger Knutson found that skunk cabbage flowers produce warmth over a period of 12-14 days, remaining on average 20° C (36° F) above the outside air temperature, during both day and night. They regulate their warmth, as a warm blooded animal might! Carrion flies are the primary pollinators and are attracted by the odor, color (of meat), and warmth. -- Brandi Stover
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