As Mother Nature wakes up, watch for one of the classic signs of spring—dragon claws emerging from the earth 🐲 …just kidding! These are young skunk cabbage flowers—one of the first native wildflowers to bloom in spring.
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Named for their memorable odor, skunk cabbage flowers are pollinated by flies and beetles, who are drawn to the flower’s scent. Skunk cabbage leaves grow after the flower has bloomed, smell when damaged, are toxic, and have tiny, glass-like calcium oxalate crystals that provide excellent defense.
Skunk cabbage is more than just a stinker! Flowers can generate their own heat to melt snow and ice around them and provide a warm respite to early spring insects during cold dips in temperature. Additionally, their seeds provide food for a variety of birds.
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