It is similar in structure to Cuckoo Pint (Arum maculatum) only the spadix (bit that looks like a sweetcorn cob) and spathe (lantern like leaf) are both bright yellow. And it is bigger. This is not from another planet but it is from another continent: North America. It goes by the prosaic names of "Western Skunk Cabbage" or "Swamp Lantern" amongst others. Its Latin name is Lysichiton americanus.
It is thriving in a boggy border downhill from a spring in the Garden. The skunk bit comes from the smell it emits to attract pollinators (beetles particularly). The cabbage bit arises from the root ball like a cabbage head that throws up the flower from about a yard underground. This was known to the native Americans as a valuable food source during a harsh time of year. The appearance of the flower heralds spring. All in all a stunning weird and exotic plant.
p.s. Went to Lauriston Castle yesterday and guess what? They have a big collection of Western Skunk Cabbages:
and alongside them the white Eastern Skunk Cabbage:
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| Symplocarpus foetidus |
Ooh, I've never seen a yellow one like that but I do like to see the Cuckoo Pints
ReplyDeleteThey are really strange looking things. They have them at RHS Harlow Carr too.
ReplyDeleteAha! I learned something new here that I didn't understand before. This western skunk cabbage is not found in California except in the far northwestern corner. It is primarily a plant of the moister Pacific Northwest (PNW). But we in our local mountains do have a plant called corn lily (Veratrum californicum) which is also called skunk cabbage. The resemblance is not in the leaves as I thought but in the "flower" looking like a corn cob.
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