One of the very first signs of spring, Skunk Cabbage is unmistakable. Long before the trees leaf out, its strange, hooded, maroon-and-green spathe pushes up from the frozen mud of swamps and seeps. This mottled shell protects the flower within and releases a pungent, skunky odor to attract its preferred pollinators: early-emerging flies and beetles.

Amazingly, the plant is thermogenic, generating its own heat to melt surrounding snow and ice. Only after flowering do its enormous, bright green, cabbage-like leaves unfurl, creating a lush, almost tropical look on the forest floor. It is a true, and famously odorous, harbinger of the end of winter.

Scientific name: Symplocarpus foetidus