skunk cabbage

American  

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.

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skunk cabbage British  

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

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Etymology

Origin of skunk cabbage

An Americanism dating back to 1745–55

Example Sentences

Gagliardi says the garden also hosts early-spring plants such as salmonberry, skunk cabbage and red-flowering currant.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 12, 2024

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

From Washington Post • Mar. 24, 2022

Cage recounted the incident matter-of-factly in one of the short anecdotes in Indeterminacy, noting that “hellebore has pleated leaves, skunk cabbage does not”.

From The Guardian • Aug. 19, 2020

In the spring, skunk cabbage was coming up, Jack-in-the-pulpit.

From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 17, 2018

Through the skunk cabbage, it seemed that the great birds were folding their wings and that flocks of small black messengers arose from their bodies and crawled upon their feathers.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan