OK, you're wondering what the hell that's supposed to be. It's skunk cabbage, the first spring wildflower in this part of the country. You have to look around the edges of creeks, ditches, rivers and ponds, but skunk cabbage starts coming through the snow in February and sometimes earlier. What you're seeing in the photo is just the flower. But here's what's interesting: skunk cabbage generates its own heat. It chemically produces enough heat to melt the snow all around it, allowing the small flies and bugs that pollinate it to reach it. By the time traditional spring wildflowers start blooming, skunk cabbage has become a clump of giant green leaves. But the flower is a welcome sight when snow covers everything else.
2 comments:
SKUNK CABBAGE!! i love skunk cabbage!! i haven't seen any yet this year. have you? i need to find some swampy areas to hike in so i can find some and watch its progress through the spring.
i always figured part of the heat was because they're a dark color--that's part of it too, right? absorb more of the sun's warmth that way?
anyway, i can't wait to see them. :)
Yes there is skunk cabbage along the river and in that little swampy place in the park near us. And yes I'm sure the fact that they are dark helps them melt snow. But they do some kind of decomposition/composting thing that generates heat too. The smell attracts flies which handle the pollination. Amazin'.
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