Symplocarpus foetidus. My back swamp is covered with these. Skunk cabbage is a cool though smelly plant and one of my favorites. Around here it flowers in February. It can generate temperatures of 27ºF to 63ºF above air temperature in order to melt its way through frozen ground. The warmer temperature inside the flower hood helps attract the flies and bees that pollinate it. It has contractile roots which pull the stem down into the ground. It grows downward. It acts more like a skunk than a cabbage.
