Skunk Cabbage

Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) is one of New England's earliest flowering, and most infamous wildflowers.  Found in areas of high moisture (wet woods, marshes, and by brooks and streams), this plant is hard to miss. 

Family:  Araceae  (includes plants such as calla lily, taro, elephants ear, and Philodendron)

Flower:  Purple-brown to Green.  The flowers themselves actually produce heat, a big draw for the flies that pollinate this plant.  Flowers bloom from February - April.   

Ecological importance: 

• Shelter: as the flowers give off heat, Skunk cabbage provides shelter for numerous small species including:
• Earthworms
• Millipedes
• Slugs and Snails
• Salamanders and lizards
• Beetles
• Common yellow-throat

• Food: The leaves, which are responsible for the malodorous aroma the plant gives off, are not surprisingly, avoided as food-stuff by most animals (fungi and some invertebrates do consume them, though).  The seeds, however, are edible, and are an important food source for organisms like:
• Wood duck
• Bobwhite
• Slugs and Snails
• Milipedes
• Honey bees
• Flies
• Earthworm