skunk cabbage
A hiker carefully steps around a patch of skunk cabbage growing in a wet forest clearing.
Noun: 1. A foul-smelling North American plant: "skunk cabbage" refers to either of two distinct perennial swamp plants native to North America, both noted for their unpleasant odor, which resembles that of a skunk. This odor serves to attract pollinating insects. * Eastern skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus): A low-growing plant of eastern North America with a distinctive, mottled, hood-like spathe (a modified leaf) that encloses its flowers. It generates heat, allowing it to melt through snow in early spring. * Western skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus): A clump-forming plant of western North America with a large, bright yellow spathe that surrounds a central spike of flowers.
- The early spring forest is often marked by the sight and smell of skunk cabbage in the wetlands.
- Botanists study skunk cabbage for its unique ability to produce thermogenic heat.
- Hikers are advised not to disturb skunk cabbage, as it is an important native species.
- As a descriptor for place or smell: The term can be used attributively to describe an area or an odor reminiscent of the plant.
- We walked through a skunk cabbage marsh.
- A faint skunk-cabbage scent lingered in the damp air.
- Symplocarpus foetidus (n): The scientific/Latin name for eastern skunk cabbage.
- Lysichiton americanus (n): The scientific/Latin name for western skunk cabbage.
- Spathe (n): The large, conspicuous bract that encloses the flower cluster in plants like skunk cabbage.
- Fetid (adj): Having a foul, unpleasant smell; often used to describe skunk cabbage.
- Swamp lantern (n): A common name for the western skunk cabbage, referring to its bright yellow spathe.
- Fetid hellebore (n): An occasional name used for eastern skunk cabbage.
The term "skunk cabbage" specifically denotes the entire plant species known for their distinctive odor and wetland habitat. It is not used to refer to actual cabbage or to the animal (skunk) itself. The name is a compound noun that functions as a single unit to identify the plant.
A hiker carefully steps around a patch of skunk cabbage growing in a wet forest clearing.
- clump-forming deciduous perennial swamp plant of western North America similar to Symplocarpus foetidus but having a yellow spathe
- deciduous perennial low-growing fetid swamp plant of eastern North America having minute flowers enclosed in a mottled greenish or purple cowl-shaped spathe