Western Skunk Cabbage

The Western Skunk cabbage is also known as the Swamp Lantern its scientific name is the Lysichiton americanus.
The Western Skunk Cabbage is located in the Pacific Northwest from southern Alaska to central California it has been found as eastward as Montana.
The Western Skunk Cabbage is found in marshy swampy wet areas, and needs partial light and partial shade.


The skunk cabbage is in the Arum family. It can grow up to five feet tall and two feet wide. The flowers are yellow-green and have an outer spathe. The skunk cabbage gets its name from its unpleasant odor. The skunk cabbage uses this odor to get pollinated by flies and beetles. The skunk cabbage is very unique in that it can generate its own heat up to 35 degrees Celsius above the outside temperature. They also have contractile roots that pull the plant deeper and deeper into the mud or marsh. They develop massive root systems that go very deep. Because of these contractile roots many sources including Steve Schimmrich a professor in New York state, claim that the skunk cabbage could live for hundreds of years as long as the area around it stays wet. Generally speaking the skunk cabbage is the first to bloom in the spring some time from early march to mid April. The flower is not usually eaten by humans, it contains poisenous oxalate crystals that are pretty disruptive to the digestive tract. Many Native tribes used the flower and leaf to store salmon. The roots however are eaten regularly by a variety deer and bear. Historically the skunk cabbage been used to treat burns, arthritus, athsma and even to induce abortions. Today skunk cabbage extract is used to treat bronchitis.



References
http://hudsonvalleygeologist.blogspot.com/2011/04/skunk-cabbage.html
http://books.google.com/books?id=zz_mk5A2jSEC&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=western+skunk+cabbage+roots&source=bl&ots=T2zV3r1QJI&sig=gyIM4Ck9yynbeUTQ-k7DMMQXRlM&hl=en&ei=yBvPTfzxFYfAsAP4rb2_Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=western%20skunk%20cabbage%20roots&f=false
http://books.google.com/books?id=zz_mk5A2jSEC&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=western+skunk+cabbage+roots&source=bl&ots=T2zV3r1QJI&sig=gyIM4Ck9yynbeUTQ-k7DMMQXRlM&hl=en&ei=yBvPTfzxFYfAsAP4rb2_Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=western%20skunk%20cabbage%20roots&f=false
http://nature.ca/plnt/popups/pop0099_e.cfm
The above image is from this site