Skunk Cabbage Flower Plant

Skunk Cabbage Flower Plant

Symplocarpus foetidus

You won't find skunk cabbage in home gardens—no seed companies carry seeds or rhizomes.

Find it in woodlands, wetlands, and near streams. Native to North America, from California to Alaska and east to Montana.

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Plant Description

Skunk cabbage is one of the first spring flowers. The 3-inch flower stem produces brown flowers, growing through receding spring snow. Flowers produce berry-like fruit.

Most memorable: its strong, offensive odor resembling rotting meat. Humans dislike it, but bees and flies are attracted to the foul odor for pollination.

Plant Height: Early spring blooms 3″. Plant grows up to 3 feet, with individual leaves up to 1 foot across.

Leaves are edible ONLY if dried first. Important: distinguish varieties, as one is poisonous.

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Other Names

Skunk cabbage is also called:
• Devil's Tobacco
• Bear's Leaf
• Bear's Roots
• Corn Lily (poisonous variety)

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Plant Propagation

Skunk cabbage grows from seeds. Also propagated by digging up rhizomes of established plants and replanting.

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Medicinal Uses

In the 1800s, a drug called "Dracontinium" made from skunk cabbage treated various ailments.

Rhizomes used for:
• Antispasmodic
• Asthma
• Coughs
• Headaches

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