Backyard Gardening
Eww, What’s That Smell?
By Amy Strong
Eww, What’s That Smell?
Growing up in the Laurel Highlands came with a plethora of opportunities to be out in nature and boy, did I relish in it! When I was just a little girl, I often visited my grandparents’ farm. It was located on the outskirts of West Bolivar in Westmoreland County, south of Indiana, Pennsylvania. Sunshine, rain, or snow – we were rarely in the house! Some of my fondest memories involved traipsing around the woods and along the creek with my Granny. She introduced me to some pretty cool, and often overlooked, native plants.
Today, I’m going to take you on a little mental stroll to explore one of those native plants Granny showed me: the first wildflower of spring, commonly known as skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus). The scientific name means what is says: a fetid, or unpleasant, odor or to put it plainly, it stinks! Skunk cabbage is a member of the Arum (Araceae) family, which also includes many tropical plants that are used as houseplants, such as dumbcane (Dieffenbachia spp.), Philodendron species, and calla lilies (Zantedeschia spp.). Skunk cabbage is also closely related to another native Pennsylvania wildflower that will appear later in spring, the Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum).
Skunk cabbage grows in damp places, often near streams and in swamps, mainly in the open, though sometimes under trees (See Photo 1). As a perennial, skunk cabbage is one of the first plants to emerge within any calendar year – sometimes as early as February – as a spike of rolled-up leaves. The production of heat in plants is relatively rare, yet this bad boy does just that! Through a process called thermogenesis, skunk cabbage simply melts its way through frozen, damp soil. This process is fueled by the cellular respiration of energy, using a LOT of oxygen. The energy is stored as long-chained sugar molecules in the plant’s modified underground stem, or rhizome. Temperatures inside the flowering body of the plant can reach 70 ºF or higher! The plant can even control how much heat is produced, making it a “warm-blooded” plant (https://www.dept.psu.edu/nkbiology/naturetrail/speciespages/skunkcabbage.htm?).
Skunk cabbage produces many small flowers on a single, knob-like central spike, or spadix, surrounded by a mottled purple/green hood-like leaf, known as a spathe. These flowers can often be overlooked, as they are not easily spotted. If you want to get a good look at the flower, you may need to get down close to the ground, and take a peek inside the narrow opening of the spathe. There, you can see the knobby cluster of yellow flowers. There are numerous small, tightly-packed individual flowers (See Photo 2). The flowers have no petals, but have four fleshy, straw-colored sepals that never really unfold. At the center of the plant, there is a short, round, central root mass (a rhizome) out of which the leaves arise, and from which the extensive root system forms. Once the leaves appear, they are a solid green color. The plants can typically reach average heights of about two feet at maturity.
Because of its early emergence, skunk cabbage has to attract the insects which are active very early in the year, if its flowers are to be pollinated. The flowers require this entire extended growing season in order to mature. By heating the air inside the spathe, the smelly compounds produced by the skunk cabbage are vaporized. These fumes mimic decaying flesh. Skunk cabbage thus provides a warm and stinky welcome for early-season flies and native bees, carrion beetles, and other small insect pollinators which would typically be attracted to rotting carcasses or animal dung (http://www.panativeplantsociety.org/skunk-cabbage.html). Gross, yet neat! Even when the leaves are crushed or bruised, they give off a smell of skunk or rotten meat, which is how this plant has earned its common name. Aside from flies, honey bees may also visit the male skunk cabbage flowers for an early source of pollen.
Skunk cabbage is an important food source for black bears when they first emerge from hibernation. Like the insects, they are also attracted by the skunk cabbage’s smell. The bears dig up and eat the starchy roots, and have also been observed eating the very young, unfurled leaves. By late summer, the flowers of the skunk cabbage have matured into berries. The fruit head crumbles and fall to the ground beneath the plant. The berries are often eaten by birds, such as ducks, geese, quail, and grouse.
Although several insects and animals are known to eat skunk cabbage, what about humans? In the past, skunk cabbage has been used medicinally by Native Americans and early European settlers. Please note that I am not suggesting using skunk cabbage as remedies for any medical issues! The leaves and flowers are now known to contain high levels of calcium oxalate, which can be irritating and may even be toxic (especially to the kidneys) if eaten in large amounts. Poison symptoms include burning and swelling around the mouth and throat, as well as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea (https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=syfo).
On one particular nature walk with my Granny, my sister and I were whining that we were just dying of thirst. Such drama! We hadn’t anticipated walking so far, and had left our collapsible cup back at the farm. Granny tore off a skunk cabbage leaf, rolled it up and dipped it in the creek. We drank from it, and never had any issues. Since I have now learned (as a curious adult doing research for this article) that skunk cabbage may be at least mildly poisonous: WHAT THE HECK, GRANNY!? As kids, we were lucky not to have had any reactions to drinking from skunk cabbage “cups.” For safety’s sake though, I do not recommend drinking from or eating any part of the skunk cabbage plant. In spite of the bad smell and possible toxicity, however, I happen to find a field of skunk cabbage quite beautiful.
Amy Lynne Strong became a Penn State certified Master Gardener/Apprentice in March, 2021. She can be reached at clintonmg@psu.edu or through the Clinton County Master Gardener Hotline at (570) 858-0198.
