OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Alismatales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Symplocarpus foetidus   FAMILY Araceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Symplocarpus foetidus   FAMILY Araceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Symplocarpus foetidus

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Symplocarpus foetidus

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 032-03-001:

Symplocarpus foetidus   FAMILY Araceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Spathyema foetida

 

COMMON NAME:
Skunk Cabbage


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Symplocarpus foetidus, Skunk Cabbage

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_s_foetidus_5

March        

The brownish-purple, fleshy, hoodlike spathe is usually striped or spotted, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).

image of Symplocarpus foetidus, Skunk Cabbage

Tim Spira    tpssfoetidus3

March        

The spathe encloses a ball-like spadix with numerous tiny flowers, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).

image of Symplocarpus foetidus, Skunk Cabbage

JK Marlow    jkm060521_077

May    Macon County    NC

Highlands Biological Station

Found in seepage-fed bogs & nonalluvial swamps, per Weakley's Flora.

image of Symplocarpus foetidus, Skunk Cabbage

JK Marlow    jkm060521_086

May    Macon County    NC

Highlands Biological Station

image of Symplocarpus foetidus, Skunk Cabbage

JK Marlow    jkm160502_107

May    Macon County    NC

Highlands Biological Station

image of Symplocarpus foetidus, Skunk Cabbage

JK Marlow    jkm160502_108

May    Macon County    NC

Highlands Biological Station

Leaves net-veined and cordate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Symplocarpus foetidus, Skunk Cabbage

Tim Spira    tpssfoetidus3_2

May        

image of Symplocarpus foetidus, Skunk Cabbage

JK Marlow    jkm0507g_07

July    Pocahontas County    WV

Cranberry Glades Botanical Area

image of Symplocarpus foetidus, Skunk Cabbage

Ron Lance    rwl_20230911_184934_2

September    Oconee County    SC

In cultivation

Fruits berry-like, in a subglobular mass to 4" wide, embedded with spherical seeds, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Symplocarpus foetidus   FAMILY Araceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Symplocarpus foetidus   FAMILY Araceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Symplocarpus foetidus

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Symplocarpus foetidus

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 032-03-001:
Symplocarpus foetidus   FAMILY Araceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Spathyema foetida

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1479

Forb
Perennial

Habitat: seepage-fed bogs and nonalluvial swamps, per Weakley's Flora

Native to North Carolina

Uncommon in NC Mountains, rare elsewhere in NC

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

LEAVES:
Simple
Basal

FLOWER:
Winter/Spring
Spathe usually brownish-purple and striped or spotted
4 perianth segments

Inflorescence a spadix

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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