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First Flower of Year Doesn’t Wait for the Snow to Melt

Photo by Tom Hodgson. Skunk cabbage melting its way through the snow in February.
Photo by Tom Hodgson. Skunk cabbage melting its way through the snow in February.
Photo by Tom Hodgson. Skunk cabbage spathe showing flowerhead inside.
Photo by Tom Hodgson. Skunk cabbage spathe showing flowerhead inside.

(Chelsea Update would like to thank Tom Hodgson and the Waterloo Natural History Association for the information in this column.)

Although we may be currently digging out from some heavy, wet snow; the first flower of spring is completely undeterred.

In fact, this flower often appears in late February when the ground is otherwise covered in white. A delicate blossom it is not, and its fragrance is unforgettable in a negative way. Its rosettes of large leaves and its offensive perfume make its name “Skunk Cabbage” totally appropriate.

Skunk cabbage is a member of the arum family; which also includes three other local species: Jack-in-the-pulpit, wild calla, and arrow arum. Skunk cabbage can bloom so early because it has the ability to produce heat and literally melt its way through winter snow and ice. Its flower head is protected by a large fleshy hood called a spathe.

Photo by Tom Hodgson. Skunk cabbage leaves emerging in spring.
Photo by Tom Hodgson. Skunk cabbage leaves emerging in spring.

The temperature inside this spathe can be 30 degrees above its surroundings. If one sticks the tip of a finger inside a spathe on a cold wintery day, the warmth can actually be felt. The heat and the “skunky” odor the spathe produces attract early emerging flies that pollinate the flowers inside.

Next to each spathe, a sharply pointed leaf bud can usually be found. In April and May, this bud will develop into a whorl of large, bright green leaves. Skunk cabbage leaves dominate the floor of wetland woods throughout the spring and early summer.

In July, deprived of sunlight by the forest canopy, they will begin to decompose. Because they are mainly water and contain very little fiber, they literally melt away. By August all that remains of the leaves are a few stems. The spathe has also melted away, leaving behind a round cluster of fruits that resembles an old hand grenade.

Photo by Tom Hodgson. Skunk cabbage fruit clusters seen in August.
Photo by Tom Hodgson. Skunk cabbage fruit clusters seen in August.

The fruiting clusters will be torn apart by animals. Some of the scattered seeds will germinate to produce new plants.

Skunk cabbage is very common along the boardwalks of the lowland woods and bog trails at the Discovery Center. The Discovery Center trails are open to the public seven days per week, year around.

Walking in the early spring woods can be a great cure for cabin fever. One may expect that the woods this time of year to be quite lifeless, but that is not the case. In addition to the skunk cabbage, walkers will be greeted by the calls of resident woodpeckers and their tap, tap, tapping as they search the trees for wintering insects.

Photo by Tom Hodgson. Skunk cabbage leaves unfurl in late April.
Photo by Tom Hodgson. Skunk cabbage leaves unfurl in late April.
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