Skunk Cabbage Symplocarpus foetidusArum family (same family as peace lily and jack in the pulpit)
This is usually the first flower out in the spring due to the fact that it can provide its own heat and can even melt through ice and snow. The flower is a hooded spathe that is usually a mottled reddish color. Inside the spathe is the yellow spadix. Blooming period February - April Needs very wet ground such as swamps, marshes, and low lying areas near streams Plant develops a fruit (about 2" diameter) in late summer. |
Thermal Imaging of Skunk Cabbage
Skunk cabbage is know to generate its own heat. It is assumed that this is done to attract insects into its warm flower. The images below are thermal images of the skunk cabbage flower shown in the above right photo. The air temperature was below 30F when I took these images (Feb 16, 2013). In these images the colder images are shown as dark blue, and the higher temperatures are shown as yellow, with a temperature scale shown on the bottom. The temperature of the center target is shown in the upper left. On the left photo, I did not get the hottest part in the target area, but by doing a color match, we are looking at least at 55 F, or at least a 25 F rise in temperature. Inside it could be even hotter (I need to take a thermometer with me next time).