Pfeiffer Nature Center & Foundation » spring

One of Spring’s First Plants ~ Eastern Skunk Cabbage

naturalist — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 20:26:22 +0000

With large showy green leaves, they defy winter’s grip and skunk cabbage sprouts often are the first plant in the woods to appear each spring poking up through the crusty snow. A deep wine-colored or maroon knob twisting its way up through the snow and frozen mud reveals the early spring emergence of skunk cabbage.

Skunk cabbage is known to generate its own heat. Skunk Cabbage is one of the few plants in the world that are ‘thermogenic,’ -they create heat. This heat can be as much as 20-36⁰F above the ambient air temperature.

This auto-warming helps the plant to push its way through the frozen ground. If you are at the plant at the right time (early March) and find skunk cabbage emerging through the snow or ice, touching the tip of the plant with your finger will reveal that yes, they plant is actually warm! Skunk cabbage thermo-regulates its temperature, just like certain mammals do.

It is interesting that Eastern Skunk Cabbage continues to grow during the winter, buried under the snow. Just enough sunlight reaches it through the layer of snow to maintain minimal photosynthesis.

Usually where you find skunk cabbage, you find a lot of them. Skunk cabbage does more than just exist; it crowds-out competitor plants. This large monocotyledon weeds take-over a swampy area where few other plants might grow. If you head over to our Eshelman Property you might find some skunk cabbage working its ways up through the ground along our Bull Head Run and Bog Trail.

Breaking the leaves and stalk of the skunk cabbage causes it to give off a distinctly unpleasant odor, much akin with that of a polecat or skunk. This unpleasant odor also serves to thwart larger animals from foraging in or around skunk cabbage patches. When you find a patch of mature skunk cabbage, it is usually pristine, undisturbed knee-high bushes of green. Few animals except for bears emerging from hibernation will disturb a patch of skink cabbage.

Skunk cabbage plant was considered a medicinal plant in the early part of the last century. It was used as treatment rheumatism, and was used by the Native Americans for relieving the pain and swelling of minor burns, and as food.

Skunk cabbage is not generally eaten by humans as a normal gathered food but in times of famine, it could be used. The roots are toxic and the leaves impart a hot, peppery taste in the mouth but if dried first, they could be used in boiled soups. Skunk cabbage leaves were also used to wrap fish prior to cooking in the hot coals of a campfire. Protecting the fish from burning while being steamed, the leaves doubtlessly imparted their hot peppery flavor to the meat.

As quickly as they appear in March, skunk cabbages are usually gone by August. However, the skunk cabbage is still there, living and growing deep underground.

Skunk cabbage is long-lived. It is believed that some plants might be over 100 years old or even older! Year after year, they return and perform their annual magic in the swamps and wetlands. Here is a place where few other plants can survive yet alone thrive, as does the Eastern Skunk Cabbage.

Love is in the Air, or it is Skunk?

naturalist — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:43:38 +0000

This morning as I was eating breakfast, my dad looked out the window and saw a skunk walking down our driveway! It was interesting to see it walking slowly down our gravel driveway and down towards the barnyard. Later when I went outside, I looked for tracks in the snow but the snow had hardened over night and the skunk did not leave tracks.

Skunks do not hibernate but generally remain inactive in a den, sometimes with other skunks during the winter months. As the weather warms up, they venture out of their dens to find food or in late winter, love. Mating occurs in the late winter months of February and March and young are born from mid-spring until mid-summer, in litters of 4-6.

Skunks are a member of the weasel family. The two most common skunks in theU.S.are the striped skunk and the spotted skunk. The striped skunk, which is common aroundWestern New York, is characterized by a black body with a narrow white stripe on the forehead and wider stripes that extend from the neck along each side of the back. The amount of black or white can vary. The skunk in my driveway this morning seemed to have more white than I normally picture on a skunk.

Skunks have sharp claws on their front feet that are used for digging insects and worms. Their footprint and moving pattern distinguishes them from other similar-sized animals. Their diet consists mainly of insects such as crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, and various insect larvae. They can dig and root in the soil looking for insect larvae. Sod lawn damage by skunks often has the sod “rolled back” in a similar fashion as done by raccoons. They will also sometimes eat poultry, eggs, garden vegetables, and fruit. They will also feed on mice, rats, ground squirrels, shrews, moles, and other small animals.

As most dog owners know, skunks are known for their discharge of an obnoxious odor when provoked. This is released primarily in self-defense. A skunk can release a spray of oily liquid as far as 10-15 feet and spray up to six times in succession. The fluid is painful if it gets in a person’s or pet’s eyes and may cause temporary blindness for about 15 minutes. Skunks will usually stamp their feet, hiss or growl and raise their tail as a warning of an oncoming discharge. After a full discharge, it takes up to 10 days to replenish the supply.

So as spring creeps closer, remember our smelly friend is beginning to venture out and look for his or her future mate. A skunk generally sprays only as a last resort and prefers to retreat from danger. However, we do not want to test its patience!

Preparing for Spring

naturalist — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:49:01 +0000

It’s the time of year where we just seem to have one bleary day after another. But there’s hope on the horizon as my daffodils have popped up ready to bolt with the first week of warm and sunny weather. So taking my cue from the daffodils, I went out and marked the trees at the house I will be watching for Project BudBurst.

The project uses citizens like us to record the emergence of buds tracking the progress of spring. I really enjoyed doing this last year and would encourage you to try it as well. Simply look at the list of trees and plants for your area, choose which one you’ll watch, then make a point to take a peek to note the changes.

I’ve marked our Eastern Redbud today with a little strip of colored ribbon to remind me to look. I pass the tree every day on my way to the car so it’s super easy to remember to observe the tree changes. The Project BudBurst site makes it convenient for me to make my observation entries online and I get a little burst of happiness each day as I watch this little tree respond to the changes of the season.

Spring Ephemerals

Peg Cherre — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:06:15 +0000

Spring is absolutely my favorite season. I just love watching tiny leaves and buds emerge. Somehow they bring me even more pleasure than seeing things in full bloom. Part of it is surely the temperature, which I find more agreeable in spring than in the heat of summer.

I take regular walks in the woods – Pfeiffer Nature Center’s woods, my own, and those belonging to friends and neighbors. Here’s what I found in the woods yesterday.

Spring beauties – their name says it all! Tiny, delicate flowers with deeply-colored petal veins, I have to tear myself away from studying them. Spring beauties are almost done blooming now, but you can still find some.

Trillium – white, painted, and the deep burgundy, which I know by the common name of wake-robin. With the white flowers the most common and the painteds the least, I find all the trilliums captivating.

Another beauty out right now is the wood anemone. Delicate white flowers wave atop broad green leaves, inviting me into the shade.

Although you may find some near you, in my woods, at least, the trout lilies are done.

But you can still pick a batch of leeks and saute them for supper. Or if you’re patient and have the know-how, go for some fiddleheads. Like all wild-food foraging, make sure you know what you’re doing before eating anything!

And if you think of picking wildflowers, make sure you first check to see if they’re protected. Even if they’re not, it’s always best to follow the 10-to-1 rule: leave 10 plants in an area where you pick 1. That way you ensure the next generation of plants.

Enjoy the beauty of spring, and let me know what blooms are tickling your fancy!

Peg Cherre, Nature Center Director