Eastern Skunk Cabbage
Eastern Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) is a native low growing plant that grown in wetlands, near streams and moist hill slopes. It grows from a thick rhizome, typically a foot in length, and has large green leaves that are 16 to 22 inches long and 12 to 16 inches wide. The leaves emerge after the spadix (fleshy stalk), and are pulled back to the soil at the end of the growing season in Fall.
Eastern skunk cabbage is one of only a few plants that can metabolically generate heat. Since it can bloom while there is still snow and ice around, the spadix can generate enough heat so that it is up to 20 F warmer inside the plant than outside. It can even do this for up to two weeks, ensuring a constant temperature for optimal flower maturation and pollination.
The flowers of the skunk cabbage are one of the first to emerge at the end of Winter. It consists of a large hood-like spathe that twists around and has an opening of 4 to 6 inches on one side, where it forms a protective enclosure for the ovoid spadix. The spathe is usually maroon with yellow or green streaks and the ovoid spadix is yellow. Numerous small straw-colored flowers can be seen along the spadix.
The flower of the skunk cabbage is putrid which attracts beetles, flies and gnats who visit it and carry the pollen from one flower to another to pollinate. After pollination the spathe disappears and the spadix develops in a fruit head. This fruit is dark brown to black in color appears berry-like. A seed is in each berry and these are released in the ground as the fruit heads fall apart, germinating in the soil where they fall.
Although the eastern skunk cabbage can be used in herbal medicine, it is not recommended that any of the plant be eaten raw. The roots can cause nausea and vomiting, headache and dizziness, while the leaves can burn the skin. This is due to Calcium Oxalate crystals within the plant. Toxicity of the plant can be eliminated by changing the water frequently while boiling and thoroughly drying the plant before use.
Interesting Facts
Skunk Cabbage was used by the Native Americans as a medicinal herb, spice and talisman.
From 1820 to 1882 it was used to treat respiratory conditions, neurological disorders and rheumatism.
Spiders like to spin their webs at the entrence of the pod so they can trap visiting insects and catch an easy meal.
Shelf Fungi
Shelf fungi or polypores are a group of fungi that form large fruiting bodies with pores and tubes on the underside, that inhabit tree trunks or branches consuming the wood, they are also the most important agent of wood decay by playing a significant role in nutrient cycling and aiding carbon dioxide absorption by forest ecosystems.
Polypores are also known as bracket fungi or shelf fungi because they characteristically produce woody, shelf or bracket shaped fruiting bodies that are called conks. Shelf fungi are mainly found on trees (mostly dead or dying) and coarse woody debris, and often resemble mushrooms.
Polypores are a lot more diverse in old natural forests with abundant dead wood than in younger forests. Currently, over a thousand polypore species have been described by science. However, a number of species have declined and are under the threat of extinction due to logging and deforestation.
Native Sedges
Sedges are a grass-like plant, that is from the Cyperaceae family. They are perennial, and are found across most of the world in wetlands, near ponds and streams, forests and bogs. They are also one of the dominant plant groups of the arctic and alpine tundra.
Typically, they have rhizomes but some species grow in tufts. They have three-sided solid stems and their leaves are blade-like have parallel veins and distinct midrib. The color of the leaves may be green, red or brown. The flowers are small and are combined into spikes, which typically contain many flowers.
All sedges are monoecious (both sexes are found on the same plant), each flower is either male (staminate) or female (pistillate), with the flowers often arranged with one sex all at the top and the other all at the bottom of the plant. They are then pollinated by the wind.
The fruit or nutlet of the Sedge is called “achenes”, and is good source of food for wildlife, especially birds. Deer also eat the sedge plant, feasting on its leaves as well as the flowers.
Interesting Facts
Native Americans historically used sedge leaves to make rope, and both leaves and rhizomes for making blankets mats and clothing.
Fossils of seeds from Sedges have been found in Denmark and they are estimated to be between 30 to 45 million years old
Invasive Species
Oriental Bittersweet
Oriental bittersweet is a woody, perennial vine that can climb up to 60 feet tall. It climbs and overtakes native trees and shrubs, which can add weight to tree canopies leading to breakage. It is very similar to the native American bittersweet, that has elliptical leaves and its fruits and flowers occur in a single clump at the end of a branch. Oriental bittersweet has rounded leaves and fruits and flowers are spread along the stem. Oriental bittersweet grows from its roots and its seeds are dispensed by birds.
Garlic Mustard
Garlic mustard is an edible herb that is native to Europe. It gets its name from the garlic sent that is produced when its leaves are crushed. It can grow anywhere and quickly spreads along roadway, trails and fence lines. Its seeds fall close to the plant but are easily spread by humans and pets. Within 5 to 7 years, it can become the dominant plant in a forest because it disperses a chemical within the soil that prevent other plants from growing.