skunk cabbage

noun

1. a low, fetid, broad-leaved North American plant, Symplocarpus foetidus, of the arum family, having a brownish-purple and green mottled spathe surrounding a stout spadix, growing in moist ground.
2. a related plant, Lysichiton americanum, of western North America, having a cluster of green leaves and a spike of flowers surrounded by a yellow spathe.

skunk cabbage

noun

1. a low-growing fetid aroid swamp plant, Symplocarpus foetidus of E North America, having broad leaves and minute flowers enclosed in a mottled greenish or purple spathe
2. a similar aroid plant, Lysichitum americanum, of the W coast of North America and N Asia

Word History and Origins

Origin of skunk cabbage¹

An Americanism dating back to 1745–55

Example Sentences

When complete, this garden will include a woodland, a pond and a prairie, three ecosystems that traditionally were managed for harvesting berries, woodland herbs, cedar, sweet grass, skunk cabbage and other culturally significant plants.

From Seattle Times

April to early May is the earliest you might expect to see skunk cabbage, coltsfoot and trillium blooming around Longmire, in the Mount Rainier National Park’s southwest corner.

From Seattle Times

Our forest floors should be carpeted with Virginia bluebells, trillium, skunk cabbage, jewelweed, ferns, spring beauty, trout lily, columbine and more.

From Washington Post

Here with dry feet can be enjoyed the juicy wetlands with one of spring’s earliest delights: the first sign of swamp lantern, the skunk cabbage that provides an early feast for pollinators.

From Seattle Times

In the spring, she organized expeditions to collect frogs and skunk cabbages for the lab.”

From Scientific American