Skunk Cabbage April 4, 2008
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in spring, wild edibles, wildflowers.Tags: edible wild plant, skunk cabbage, spring, Symplocarpus foetidus, wildflower
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I wrote a bit about Skunk Cabbage last spring. It’s such an interesting plant… It generates heat in very early spring and actually melts its way through the ice and snow so it can be the first wildflower of the season.
UPDATE: “How does it do that?” asked a reader. So I googled and found this:
A couple of times I’ve been lucky enough to see spathes growing up through a thin layer of ice, the ice melted around the spathe in a circular form. This is an indication of skunk cabbage’s remarkable capacity to produce heat when flowering. If you catch the right time, you can put your finger into the cavity formed by the spathe and when you touch the flower head, your finger tip warms up noticeably. 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, whether during the day or night. During this time they regulate their warmth, as a warm-blooded animal might!
Physiologically the warmth is created by the flower heads breaking down substances while using a good deal of oxygen. The rootstock and roots store large amounts of starch and are the likely source of nutrients for this break down. The more warmth produced, the more substances and oxygen consumed. Knutson found that the amount of oxygen consumed is similar to that of a small mammal of comparable size. (source)
Seriously… If you are interested in Skunk Cabbage, click on the word “source” above. You will read more about Skunk Cabbage than you thought was possible to write… and it’s all pretty fascinating!
The flower is odd, resembling raw or rotting meat in color and smell, attracting the only pollinator out at this time of year: flies. Later in summer, it will have leaves bigger than your head!
Those leaves will have a distinctly skunky smell which leads me to question why anyone decided to try to eat them… Except that they are quite plentiful in wetland settings and if you were looking for an easy crop, this would provide… Or maybe someone saw turkeys munching on the stuff:
At any rate, here’s what the Peterson Guide To Edible Wild Plants has to say about Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus):
The thoroughly dried young leaves are quite good reconstituted in soups and stews. The thoroughly dried rootstocks can be made into a pleasant cocoalike flour.
Warning: Contains calcium oxalate crystals; eating the raw plant causes an intense burning sensation in the mouth. Boiling does not remove this property – only thorough drying. Also, do not confuse the young shoots with those of False Hellabore.
Cocoalike… Hmm… Makes me want to try that! FYI: False Hellabore is poisonous. Personally, I don’t think they look anything alike:
Skunk Cabbage is found in the northeast. Here is the range map from the USDA website.
Jennifer- Very beautiful pictures, the intense green and sun in these images has really brightened my gray morning. And certainly, I had NO idea that Skunk Cabbage was edible when dried. Fascinating stuff!
Tom
Ever since I learned that SC generates enough heat to melt snow, as your picture so nicely shows, I have wondered how does it do it –what is the source of the heat ?
I never knew that, either – great photographic example of it, though.
Nice seeing all four of those photos together. Great post!
Hi Jenn,
I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen skunk cabbage, but now that I’ve seen your pictures and story, it’s something I’m going to watch for on my turkey scouting trips. And because I’m curious, I might even kneel down to sniff and see how truly stinky it is!
cestoady asked how the plant generates the heat, so I updated the post and added a link to the source. Very interesting!
Thanks for the followup on my querie. Fasinating stuff.
A wonderful example of a characteristic with obvious survival value , one that favors very early pollination.
I wonder if any of the references use the word “metabolism” in describing the generation of heat. Even though it may smell like a skunk,a plant that can turn up the heat certainly has my respect.
What an excellent post! I appreciate reading this very much. I also appreciate the range map which explains why I am not familiar with the plant!
This was quite interesting! We used to have a swampy woods near us where many skunk cabbage grew, but I had no idea about any of this! Thanks for all the info!
Cool – skunk cabbage is a very interesting plant, even moreso now that I’ve read this post!
Wonderful shots!!
I live in the bottom of a valley with a stream. Behind my yard is a wildlife preserve and acres of skunk cabbage. My mother lives one half mile away and uphill by about 150 feet. It is always about 5 degrees warmer at my house than hers. This time of year I used to look over the valley and it was covered in fog. Now I live in the swamp!
What a wonderful and informative post. It almost makes me wish I lived farther north where skunk cabbage grows.
Winterwoman, I live on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia — very much the Northwest — and walk along Duck Creek every morning this winter, including this rainy morning in April past literally hundreds of skunk cabbage fully in bloom. You have inspired me to take photographs tomorrow. Thanks.
Hi
Great article. Plenty of skunk cabbage on my
property. But, how do I get rid of it.
Many thanks for all the information. I love Sc and take photos of it every year. I wondered what False Hellabore was and now I know (have photos of it but didn’t know what it was).
Dr Bob I suspect that you can’t get rid of Skunk Cabbage easily — it probably is a very hardy and ancient plant. You must have wetlands on your property. Enjoy them and the Skunk Cabbage and be happy!
Frank
I am glad you posted this. I was curious about it. Just came across some today in some thoroughly thawed water.
Here in New Hampshire in May the Skunk Cabbage is vibrant and beautiful! I am thinking of transplanting a couple into the swampy area at the bottom of my back hill, but wonder if I’ll regret doing that. Thanks for your wonderful info!
As I look in my backyard every spring (which backs up to swampy town-owned land) here in Monroe, and drive to church through Easton, CT, I see so many skunk cabbage plants, and have always thought God put so many on this Earth for a reason…I’ve even suggested to a young parishioner (Ph.D. in molecular biology, who’s researching a hormone in gila monster saliva for use to treat diabetes!!!) that there must be SOMETHING useful (besides food for wild turkeys) from them, since they’re so plentiful around here!
We have it all over in Juneau, AK!