Skunked?

With a name like "Skunk Cabbage," one has to wonder how this Northwest native plant impressed early explorers like Lewis and Clark and David Douglas. Our local Native Americans were very familiar with it and at some point in the early 1900's it was exported to the U.K. where they actually cultivated the rogue cabbage! If our original residents knew about the vile smelling plant traveling across the ocean for aristocrat gardeners, they would probably be laughing their heads off.

      

Western Skunk Cabbage (Lysichiton americanus) is neither a cabbage nor is it suitable for a salad. But, as any local  grade school child can tell you, it is easy to identify and it does have a pungent odor. Hikers who venture out on a trail in a boggy area, are probably going to see Skunk Cabbage, with its giant leaves that look almost tropical. The exotic tall yellow "flowers" have an alien look compared to most other Northwest wildflowers. These big, bright yellow shoots resemble old time candle lamps; the plants are also called Swamp Lantern.

In fact, the plant's real flowers resemble tiny popcorn kernels and cover the spadix, the candle-like spire in the center of the big 6-8 inch yellow spathe that resembles a large spoon. When an entire colony of Skunk Cabbage is blooming, the yellow spathes make for quite the show! Of course the bloom also releases that namesake odor, making a show of another kind!

Tiny white flowers

As a member of the Araceae family, the musty, skunk-like odor does have a purpose: it keeps certain large animals away (such as deer and elk) and it attracts pollinators, who apparently relish the low brow smell. Here in western Oregon, they are in bloom now.

In the Eastern U.S., a similar but different and equally fascinating Eastern Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) also grows in boggy areas and has a pungent odor when its purple-green flowers emerge from the ground in early spring. Only the flowers are visible at first, during the bloom. Later, the leaves emerge as the flowers die off. This oddball plant has Thermogenesis on its resume. Meaning, the plant can actually generate heat. It is thought that this helps get the tough flowers through the cold ground when emerging, as well as aiding in the odor spreading, once it blooms. The heat is generated by a process called "cellular respiration," a complex topic worthy of study for the serious botanist! Follow this link for a taste.

Eastern Skunk Cabbage. Photo courtesy Wikipedia*

Both the western and eastern versions of this cabbage were used by native peoples extensively. However, parts of each plant are highly toxic, so don't get skunked by the lore of beneficial properties. As always, we here at Wildflower Blog Central remind our readers to leave any plant where it is and take only photos!



*Photo: By Sue Sweeney. - The Monday Garden & Wikipedia.