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Lysichiton americanus
Also called American Skunk Cabbage, Western Skunk Cabbage, Yellow Skunk Cabbage, Skunk Cabbage, Swamp Lantern
A bog and wetland perennial from the Pacific Northwest, grown for its huge leaves and early bright yellow spathes. It needs constantly wet, boggy conditions to thrive, and it can spread aggressively.
Lysichiton americanus, also called western skunk cabbage (US), yellow skunk cabbage (UK), American skunk-cabbage (Britain and Ireland) or swamp lantern, is a plant found in swamps and wet woods, along streams and in other wet areas of the Pacific Northwest, where it is one of the few native species in the arum family.
The plant is called skunk cabbage because of the distinctive "skunky" odor that it emits when it blooms. This odor will permeate the area where the plant grows, and can be detected even in old, dried specimens. The distinctive odor attracts its pollinators, scavenging flies and beetles.
It was used as an ornamental garden plant in Britain and Ireland, where it grows well in marshy conditions. As of 2018, the Royal Horticultural Society recommends that it should not be cultivated.
Hybrids with Lysichiton camtschatcensis, called Lysichiton × hortensis, are also cultivated. These have larger spathes than either of the parent species.
The plant contains calcium oxalate crystals, which result in a prickling sensation on the tongue and throat and can cause intestinal irritation; if consumed in large quantities it can even cause death.
Lysichiton americanus is found from Kodiak Island and Cook Inlet, Alaska south through British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Northern California as far south as Santa Cruz County. Isolated populations are also found in northeastern Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.
The plant was used by indigenous people as medicine for burns and injuries, and in times of famine as an emergency food source, when the leaves were heated and eaten. The leaves have a somewhat spicy or peppery taste.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Lysichiton americanus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
