skunk cabbage country

Spring has finally arrived to Prince Rupert.  But instead of the cherry blossoms I'm used to back home, up here the new season is signaled by a slightly more pungent bloom: Skunk Cabbage.

Behind my office: skunk cabbage.  On our doggy walking route: skunk cabbage.  On the trails I ran yesterday: skunk cabbage.  Everywhere you look in this town, the cheery bright yellow heads of skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus) are poking through the saturated earth.

Now I am one of those crazy people who quite enjoys the smell of skunk (much to Ty's dismay) and while skunk cabbage doesn't have quite the same nose, I still enjoy it's musky, earthy smell.  Apparently I'm not the only one, the scent is actually used by the plant to attract pollinators like flies an beetles (so... obviously, I'm in good company).

In honour of this first sign of spring up here, here is a little skunk cabbage 101 (I know you were just dying to know more about it):

• While skunk cabbage may look like one big, yellow flower, each plant actually has a spathe (the big yellow leaf) and spadix (the interior club) that actually contains hundred of teeny flowers.
• Skunk cabbage has the largest leaves of a plant found in the region- up to 150cm long!
• The young plants (especially the roots) are food for bears emerging from hibernation.  Apparently it has a laxative property that helps clear things out after a winter spent asleep.
• Don't try to eat it, it contains calcium oxolate crystal that can cause some major burning.
• Apparently the big, waxy leaves were used by some First Nations as we would use wax paper or saran wrap now, to store food.

So cheers to spring in skunk cabbage country....