It is early March, and the floral season has already begun. Actually, it may have begun sometime back in February.
Wrapping around themselves like a pair of cupped hands, the mottled leaves of the Skunk Cabbage create a hood, protecting a spike of tiny yellow flowers. Because it blooms when snow is still on the ground, the plant has developed a mechanism to withstand the cold. By burning carbohydrates stored in its roots, it is capable of generating its own heat. Often, snow is melted for several inches around it; temperatures inside the hood—known as a spathe—have been found to be close to thirty degrees higher than the surrounding air.
I knew what to expect, but I was still astonished at how warm it felt when I stuck a couple of fingers inside the spathe. My hand rubbed against it as I was pulling out, and when I reached up to scratch my nose a few moments later, I discovered how the plant earned its name. Native Americans may have inhaled this odor as a cure for headaches, but one sniff was enough to convince me to steer clear.
Flower Fast Facts
FLOWER: The small flowers of this plant are borne on a rounded spadix sheathed by an enveloping mottled spathe, which ranges in color from green to dirty purple.
LEAVES AND STEM: Appearing after the flower and unfurling from being tightly wrapped, the veined leaves are heart-shaped at the base and resemble cabbage leaves.
BLOOM SEASON: February to April (may bloom even earlier in some years).
About This Series
“Mountain Wildflowers” features a wildflower from the Blue Ridge region each month from March to October. Leonard M. Adkins has written for Blue Ridge Country for more than two decades and is the author of 20 books about travel, hiking and nature. His Wildflowers of the Appalachian Trail, which received the prestigious National Outdoor Book Award, provides the photographs and some of the information he writes about in each “Mountain Wildflowers.” It and his other works may be obtained through his website.
