03/04/2026
New England’s First flower of spring.
As a child, my back yard was swampland. I and my friends would explore and play here in all seasons. If you emerged at the end of the day dry and muck free, you were an adept explorer. At this time of year, we especially avoided stepping on the first flower of spring. Not because we were protecting it but because it stank of rotten corpses and that smell clung to you like skunk.
Skunk Cabbage generates its own heat — up to 70°F above the surrounding air temperature.
Not through photosynthesis but, by thermogenesis. Just like Warm blooded creatures.
* Skunk Cabbage is one of the only plants that produces metabolic heat.
* It burns stored starch at a rate comparable to a small mammal.
* Its internal temperature holds steady at 68-77°F even when the air is 15°F.
* It pushes through snow/frozen soil by melting a tunnel from below ground.
* The heat volatilizes its chemicals — producing a rotting-meat smell that attracts the first flies of the season.These Early flies crawl inside the hooded spathe, get warm, pick up pollen, and carry it to the next cabbage.
This plant is a heated pollination station. Skunk Cabbage doesn't wait for warmth. It makes its own.
Thanks to natureinstitute.org
