We live just a few miles from the southern-most population
of skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus
foetidus. These
fascinating plants look like cabbage (kind of) and its leaves and flowers give
off a strong odor (the skunky part of the name). The
specific name foetidus comes from Latin and means
smelly. Skunk cabbages live along creeks
and in swamps across eastern Canada, the northern US east of the Great Plains
and as far south as Tennessee and North Carolina. On an early spring morning, I hiked up an unnamed
branch of Swearing Creek. As I rounded a
bend, dozens of bright green plants were emerging from the creek and its soggy
banks. The flowers were finished but
some decaying fruits remains.
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| A population of skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus, in Piedmont North Carolina |
Skunk cabbage is one of the earliest flowering plants in its
range with the flowers produced in deep winter. Snow covers the ground in many places when skunk cabbage flowers. Its most amazing trick is the flowers can
melt their way through snow. Skunk
cabbage uses a special thermogenic type of respiration to raise the flower
temperature above that of its surroundings, melting snow and giving off its foul
odor. This smell attracts early emerging
flies to act as pollinators.
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Skunk cabbage with decaying spathe and spadix |
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Skunk cabbage emerging from the water |
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Spathiphyllum with a flower bearing spadix
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Skunk cabbage is in the family Araceae that also includes Spathiphyllum, a familiar houseplant. The Araceae
produce distinct flowering structures; the spadix and the spathe. The spadix is an inflorescence, a group of flowers that develop into
fruits. The spadix is surrounded by the
leaf-like spathe. The spathe of skunk
cabbage is green with purple stripes. The purple color and strong smell resembles
rotting flesh and attracts the fly pollinators.
The largest flower in the world, the titan arum, Amorphophallus titanium, is in the same family with a 10-foot flower, purple spathe, a giant spadix and fetid smell.
I hope to visit the skunk cabbage site again next winter and
find flowers melting their way through snow, in full stench.
