Look closerPlants
Skunk cabbage: the early spring flower that warms itself
When: February to April
Skunk cabbage flowers in wet Massachusetts ground can run 15 to 35 degrees warmer than the surrounding air, sometimes melting the snow and ice around them.
Why this time of year
One of the first flowers of a Massachusetts spring, skunk cabbage can appear as early as February, pushing up through frozen wetland edges while everything else waits.
How to notice it
- In late winter, scan soggy ground and stream edges for curved hoods poking through snow, ice, or mud.
- Look for melted rings in the snow around each hood.
- Peek into the hood's side opening to find the knobby flower head inside.
- Stand on firm ground and lean in rather than stepping into the muck.
Try this with kids: Why would a flower need to make heat?
making heat this way is called thermogenesis
Safety
- Observe from stable ground and avoid trampling wetland plants.
- Look, do not pick, and keep boots out of soft muck and moving water.
Sources
- massaudubon.orgSkunk cabbage tissues generate heat that can melt the snow and ice around it, it can flower as early as February, and it grows in wetland areas; the hood-like spathe surrounds the flower-bearing spadix
- fs.usda.govOne of the first wildflowers of spring; for its first 12-14 days it can produce temperatures 15 to 35 degrees warmer than the surrounding air, and it can melt snow
In the guide for February, March, April