#symplocarpusfoetidus

[norfolknaturalist]

Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidums) on the Lynn Valley Trail, February 2018. The smell of Skunk cabbage may not be appealing to us, but it's appealing to its pollinators: Flies and Beetles that feed on dead animals. . . . . . . . #nature #ontario #lynnvalleytrail #skunkcabbage #symplocarpusfoetidus #plantlife #wetlandplants #botany #plantphoto #plant_aholics #ecology #plantecology #ontarioplants #naturephoto #blognorfolk #norfolkwild (at Lynn Valley Trail) https://www.instagram.com/p/CK6C-RHACmW/?igshid=1vpdx2prs7b87

[indefenseofplants]

Check out the spathes on this skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)! Lots of variability from plant to plant and population to population. Its a great time of year if you live in eastern North America and want to see for yourself. Just remember, tread lightly! #aroid #aroidsofinstagram #Araceae #botany #springiscoming #wildflowers #nativeplants #plantsofinstagram #spathe #inflorescence #skunkcabbage #symplocarpusfoetidus #variationwithinaspecies #ecology #wetlands #biodiversity

[chriscarterart]

I was a little too late to capture the bright red, early stage of the local skunk cabbage. I did find a few that still had the sci-fi pods from which the green leaves emerge. I couldn't get close enough to sketch and paint it on site without sinking into the swamp so I opted to draw it from a photo I snapped. I started out with a pencil drawing, locating it carefully behind the numbers that were already on the page of my Stillman & Birn, Zeta Series sketchbook that I've designated as a Perpetual Plant Journal. Honestly, I had no idea how to approach the next step of painting the skunk cabbage. I opted to start with multiple layering of greens . When dry, I added washes of dark, neutralized blue-violets and red-violets. For the greens I used mixes of aureolin, gamboge, Joe's blue and Ultramarine Blue. I began my violet mixes using alizarin crimson and ultramarine blue. I neutralized several of those mixes with a tiny touch of cadmium red light as well as a bit of the darker green mixture. I added a wet in wet wash over the leaves charging the puddle with different pigments, playing the cool greens against the warm violets. I finished by adding more neutralized dark violets in the pod part of the plant. #chriscarterart #chriscarterartist #explorewithchriscarter #botanicalart #sketchbookart #illustrationdaily #skunkcabbage #symplocarpusfoetidus #watercolor_daily #watercolourpainting #watercolourart https://www.instagram.com/p/B-YPBroHJ8F/?igshid=dtkl15x5hyv

[seedkeeping]

Signs of Spring. 1. Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna), a noxious weed also known as Pilewort, and apparently good for hemorrhoids; 2. Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), which I remember thrashing as a kid to release extra smell (kids are jerks sometimes); 3. Honeybee (Apis mellifera) getting some fresh air and some alone time; 4. Reading about isolating Peas (Pisum sativum) in The Organic Seed Grower by John Navazio, now of @johnnys_seeds; 5. The Callery Pear (Pyrus calleryana), native to China and Vietnam, is ornamental, and started blooming a few days ago all over Philly; 6. Random photo of me about to soak Pois Géant Sans Parchemin (Pisum sativum), an heirloom pea variety featured in Vilmorin-Andrieux (1883) and shared with me by William Woys Weaver.

[cobada]

Eastern Skunk Cabbage An abundant wetland wildflower which emits its own warmth and can melt surrounding snow in early spring. Besides the smell, most animals won’t forage it because it’ll burn their mouths… except bears will still eat it for some reason. #symplocarpusfoetidus #thermogenesis #nativeplants

[ecobota]

Hello beautiful! #skunkcabbage #Symplocarpusfoetidus (at Pennsylvania)

[seedkeeping]

Skunk Cabbage is in the same family as its tropical cousins calla lilies, philodendrons, and taros, but is native to the damp forests and wetlands of eastern North America. It generates its own heat (55-95°), melting ice and snow to emerge and flower early, attracting pollinators with its warmth and skunky smell. It can be a way station to warm honeybees on their way back to the hive. I learned this from @cryptogam_, who you can see here marveling at this talented and ephemeral plant last week. Today I took these closer looks and found a lone fruit fly, wandering through the dark, hooded flower. When I was a kid in Northeastern Connecticut, we would wander the forests by the Shetucket River, kicking the leafy cabbages that follow this flowering stage, releasing the potent smells from the damaged leaves. Yet again, I shake my head in retrospect, thinking of all the injured leafy beauties left in our wake. Bears will also destroy skunk cabbages, as they gobble them down. Over the ages, people too have used skunk cabbage as medicine and food, though the leaves are dangerous to consume raw, and I’ve heard (including from @ledameredith) that it is very difficult to make it palatable no matter how you prepare it. I’ve seen tinctures of the root used for reducing spasms, asthma, and coughs and traditionally a poultice of the leaves is used for healing skin wounds. These unfurling, striped skunk flowers greet us cheerily as we cross the small creek tributary and walk through the woods from the seed room to the farm. #symplocarpusfoetidus #skunkcabbage