Up Close and Personal With: Skunk Cabbage

It was a chilly, sunny day, and my husband and I went for a little drive and hung out along Spring Creek, near Bellefonte. He sat in a chair by the creek and read his book, while I grabbed my camera and walked around, taking pictures. Oh, it felt so GOOD to be outside!

I heard spring peepers in the side ponds, and saw a few amphibians jump. Along the creek, I heard a loud splash, which I initially assumed to be a large bullfrog, but I later thought it may also just have likely been a muskrat, as we've spotted those in these parts before.

This is one of the signs of spring around here: skunk cabbage, or Symplocarpus foetidus. That second word means stinky, as you might have guessed, as this plant's leaves, when bruised, present a fragrance reminiscent of skunk. Thus the name!

I got up close and personal so I could show you the flower that is inside the skunk cabbage. It's that little knobby round thing in the middle. You can also see the blue sky reflected on the waters.

The song to accompany this image is Lynyrd Skynyrd, with That Smell.