Skunk Cabbage

This plant has a lot of other names, but we figured "skunk cabbage" was evocative enough! Bruised leaves of this plant apparently present an odor reminiscent of skunk, and its Latin classification means "bad smelling". Some people find it repulsive, but the scent is generally described as smelly like cabbage with a "slight suggestion of mustard", and the scent apparently intensifies over time as the plant matures.  Like other plants in our Ohio Wildflowers collection, Skunk Cabbage is native to eastern North America. It is protected in Tennessee as an endangered species.  Skunk cabbage, despite its weird smell and off-putting name, is a really cool plant - it produces its own heat, meaning it's one of the first plants to bloom in the spring, since it can melt the snow. Because of its smell, flies are one of its pollinators, and there are often spiderwebs around skunk cabbage since its pollinators would also be food for the spiders.  It is by-and-large not a great plant to handle, as th