Skunk Cabbage, Swamp Cabbage
( Symplocarpus foetidus )

Skunk Cabbage is our first wildflower of the year, blooming from early February into March.  It's typically found in seeps and bogs.
 
What we usually see is the outer part, a spathe or hood that envelopes the spadix. The spadix is a fleshy spike on which the tiny flowers are located. The overall form is similar to Jack-in-the –Pulpit and other members of the Arum.family
 
The spathe is initially green and then as it matures, gradually opens and changes to a burgandy, revealing the spadix and its yellow flowers within. After pollination the spaeth disintegrates and the spadix gradually decomposes, releasing the heavy seeds. Meanwhile, the leaves emerge and enlarge, by late spring attaining a height of two feet or more.
 
Skunk Cabbages don't grow very rapidly but where the right conditions exist they gradually increase the number of shoots from the mother plant and new plants emerge nearby.
 
The very large leaves give the plant its name but they don't look much like cabbage leaves.  They contain calcium oxalate crystals so they certainly don't taste like cabbage.  And when the leaves are crushed a foul odor is released but it doesn't really smell like a skunk. 

 
Text Provided by: Glenn P., Arboretum Volunteer
Photo by: Angela B., Arboretum Staff