{"id":19298,"date":"2020-12-30T22:09:55","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T03:09:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vnps.org\/johnclayton\/?p=19298"},"modified":"2020-12-30T23:01:51","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T04:01:51","slug":"skunk-cabbage-december-2020-wildflower-of-the-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vnps.org\/johnclayton\/2020\/12\/30\/skunk-cabbage-december-2020-wildflower-of-the-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Skunk Cabbage December 2020 Wildflower of the Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>

Skunk Cabbage flower detail with spadix.
Photo by Kevin Howe.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Lush spring foliage of Skunk Cabbage, May 2020.
Photo by Betsy Washington<\/p><\/div>\n

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By Betsy Washington<\/h4>\n

Northern Neck Chapter, Virginia Native Plant Society<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

As the winter solstice approaches, I am already anticipating the blooms of our earliest spring
\nwildflower, Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus. The buds of this winter blooming
\nwildflower begin to appear in our region as early as December and the flowers often start to
\nbloom by New Year\u2019s Day. As one might imagine for a wildflower that manages to bloom and
\nattract pollinators in the dead of winter, this plant has developed some remarkably interesting
\nadaptations to the cold and even snow cover.<\/p>\n

Like Jack in the Pulpit, Skunk Cabbage is a member of the Arum family with an unusual flower
\nstructure of tiny flowers borne on a club or spike-like structure called a spadix. Often the club is
\npartially enclosed by a colorful leaf-like structure called a spathe. In the case of Skunk Cabbage,
\nthe flowers emerge and bloom before the leaves open beginning around New Year\u2019s Day. The
\nspathe is a smooth fleshy hood and is a deep burgundy-purplish color, often with greenish
\nmottling. Some say it resembles carrion as the plant emerges from the snow or frozen ground.
\nThe spathe is about 4 \u2013 6\u201d long with a pointed tip and a small opening on one side, and partially
\nsurrounds the actual flowering structure inside. The spadix is knob-like and divided into raised
\nbumps each of which bears a tiny flower. The tiny flowers are only \u00bc\u201d wide and have no petals.
\nInstead, the plants have unique adaptations that allow them to emerge through snow and attract
\npollinators. The plant can generate heat and raise temperatures inside the spathe as high as 77
\ndegrees even when temperatures outside are below freezing.<\/p>\n

As you might imagine with a common name like skunk cabbage, and a scientific name like
\nfoetidus (Latin for fetid smelling), the bruised leaves and flowers of skunk cabbage have a putrid
\nodor. Some say it resembles a skunk, while others describe it as smelling like a long dead animal.
\nThis is quite an adaptation as the chief pollinators of the stinky flowers are carrion flies and flesh
\nflies that are attracted to the seemingly decomposing flesh odor. Besides the \u201calluring\u201d smell, the
\nwarmth inside the spathe, entices these insects in to lay their eggs thereby incidentally
\npollinating some of the flowers. Once pollinated, the spadix enlarges into a compound fruit with
\na blocky surface somewhat like a miniature pineapple. Each berry-like fruit contains a single
\nseed, which ripens and falls to the ground near the Mother plant to potentially create a colony of
\nskunk cabbages.<\/p>\n

Skunk cabbages are long-lived and have massive roots with a stout rhizome that extends deep in
\nthe soil surrounded by large masses of fibrous roots. The wrinkled roots are contractile, meaning
\nthat they contract and pull the plant down a few centimeters deeper in the soil each year, so that
\nthe flowers are always at or partly below ground level. These large roots also store the energy
\nrequired to raise the temperature of the flowers each winter.
\nOnce the plants have bloomed, the leaves unfurl, and eventually grow into a showy vase-shaped
\nmounds of large, lush foliage, with wrinkled heavily-veined leaves that can reach 2\u2019 long and 1\u2019
\nwide. By late spring, the mature foliage creates a lush, spectacular look in the swamps and
\nwetlands in which they grow. No matter that they resemble cabbage, their leaves are toxic and
\nfilled with calcium oxalic crystals that create a painful and unforgettable burning sensation if
\neaten, deterring nearly all vertebrate herbivores. Curiously, recent studies have shown that Black
\nBears, hungry after emerging from hibernation, will eat the new unfurled leaves which may
\nmake up to 90% of their diet in years when oaks do not produce many acorns and food is scarce.<\/p>\n

Despite the toxicity, the plant was used medicinally by Native Americans to treat headaches,
\nnervous, and respiratory ailments, and was popular and was even listed in 19 th century
\npharmacopoeias as \u2018Dracontium\u2019 to treat disorders such as asthma, whooping cough, bronchitis,
\nand nervous disorders such as epilepsy, vertigo, and headaches.
\nSkunk Cabbage occurs over much of the Eastern N. A. from Nova Scotia west to Quebec and
\nMinnesota, south to North Carolina and Tennessee and blooms from late December through
\nMarch depending on the latitude. Skunk Cabbage, (also called Swamp Cabbage) is typically
\nfound in shaded wetlands such as seepage swamps, seeps, bogs, and other low areas where the
\nground is saturated or wet for most of the year. They prefer consistently wet, mucky soils, and
\ncan tolerate seasonally flooded shallow water. They do not tolerate dry soils, and their beautiful
\nlush foliage yellows and quickly withers away by late summer, as the swamps dry out and the
\nplant goes dormant until the following winter. Because of their massive roots, it is extremely
\ndifficult if not impossible to dig these plants up or move them, so they are best enjoyed in nature
\nin a swamp or bog or planted from seeds. If planted from seeds, they must be fresh, and never
\nallowed to dry out, and planted in semi-shad, mucky soils that remain consistently moist or wet.<\/p>\n

Each year, members of the Northern Neck Chapters of the Virginia Native Plant Society,<\/span><\/em>
\nAudubon Society and Master Naturalists sponsor a New Year\u2019s Day walk to Cabin Swamp in<\/span><\/em>
\nHickory Hollow NAP in Lancaster, to look for the curious blooms of Skunk Cabbage and to get<\/span><\/em>
\noutside and enjoy other winter flora and fauna. Because of COVID-19, this year they are going<\/span><\/em>
\nvirtual and inviting members and the public to join us in a virtual program available on the<\/span><\/em>
\nNorthern Neck Chapter, National Audubon Society website. It has trail maps and slides with<\/span><\/em>
\ndescriptions of skunk cabbage and its life history, as well as other interesting highlights that can<\/span><\/em>
\nbe found along the trail. So, grab your coat and gloves, and a copy of the trail guide, and get<\/span><\/em>
\noutside and hunt for skunk cabbage and other wonders of the winter woods and celebrate the<\/span><\/em>
\nNew Year!  Check it out at Northern Neck Audubon Society website <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/northernneckaudubon.squarespace.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                        By Betsy Washington Northern Neck Chapter, Virginia Native Plant Society   As the winter solstice approaches, I am already anticipating the blooms of our earliest spring wildflower, Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus. The buds of this winter blooming wildflower begin to appear in our…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18603,"featured_media":19300,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSkunk Cabbage December 2020 Wildflower of the Month - John Clayton<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vnps.org\/johnclayton\/2020\/12\/30\/skunk-cabbage-december-2020-wildflower-of-the-month\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Skunk Cabbage December 2020 Wildflower of the Month - John Clayton\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"                        By Betsy Washington Northern Neck Chapter, Virginia Native Plant Society   As the winter solstice approaches, I am already anticipating the blooms of our earliest spring wildflower, Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus. 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