18 • The Beacon April 13 , 2023
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What is your sign of spring ?
What is your tried and true sign of spring ? Is it the forsythia beginning to bloom ? Spring bulbs emerging ? Or maybe it ’ s the frequency of skunks along the side of the road ? For me , it is typically the last one ; I never trust the groundhog , but the skunks don ’ t lie . Regardless of what makes you think , “ Ah , it ’ s finally coming ,” we all look to nature , seeking salvation from winter hibernation .
Well , today I would like to share with you a true crusader of spring : Symplocarpus foetidus — or as we know it , eastern skunk cabbage . This skunk cabbage is found throughout our county in our many wetland and swampy areas , as it thrives with “ wet feet ” or submerged roots .
As odd as it may sound , eastern skunk cabbage is one of the first blooming plants in the spring . The bloom of eastern skunk cabbage is what emerges first , and it produces its own heat that can melt the snow above it . The flowers appear before the leaves are made up of a protective maroon hood-like leaf called a spathe , which surrounds a spadix — this knobbish structure is where the pollen is .
The flowers look almost supernatural and a lot like
they should be a carnivorous plant . But skunk cabbage is not a plant that feeds on insects ; the structure of its bloom has developed out of helping early pollinators to survive . The flower continues to create its own heat , even after eruption from the winter ground . A skunk cabbage flower can maintain a temperature of above 50 F , even when the air around it is below freezing .
So when a cold and weary pollinator finally reaches the delicious , stinky odor of the skunk cabbage flower , it is greeted by a warm “ tent ” full of pollen . Now this is extremely helpful with the early emergence of pollinators but also has become extremely helpful to spiders living in the swampy areas .
Spiders have been known to weave webs within the skunk cabbage blossoms and wait for the cold and weary pollinators to arrive . Although a few pollinator lives are lost through spider foraging , most are successful in finding the early food source . Skunk cabbage is
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extremely valuable as an early food source for many beneficial insects .
Once the flower begins to fade , those huge , stinky cabbage leaves begin to erupt and create the mass colonies of skunk cabbage for us all to enjoy well into the summer .
So next time you are looking for spring , look no farther than your local swamp come late February and through March . The eastern skunk cabbage will emerge and show us more signs of spring will soon be on the way .
Jodi Shrimplin is the head gardener / education coordinator at Clary Gardens .
Submitted
Skunk cabbage is found throughout our county in our many wetland and swampy areas , as it thrives with “ wet feet ” or submerged roots .
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