Skunk Cabbage
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Daniel
Posted: Jan-21-2005 at 4:47pm
I've got a question that has little to do with gardening and more to do with allowing nature to thrive.
Can anybody give me information about the ecological role of skunk cabbage? I'm trying to restore a creek which happens to have skunk cabbage growing alongside it, and I've run into a hardliner who is adamant that skunk cabbage stinks and is basically a 'trash' plant. This is an attitude that I have little patience with so I need to be able to refute it logically. Any naturalists out there that can help?
Lisa A
Joined: Aug-14-2003
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Jan-21-2005 at 5:42pm
Oh, the poor maligned skunk cabbage. How you view a plant is all about perspective. One person's trash plant is another person's treasure. Perhaps if you told this hardliner that they pay big bucks (Euros, now I guess) for it in England where it is often called swamp lily or swamp lantern. So much for cultured sounding, isn't it?
Are you in the PNW, Daniel? If so, then the info I provide is applicable. If you are elsewhere in the country, it may or may not and you should check with a native plant society for your region for some advice.
Skunk cabbage's smell attracts pollinating insects, most likely beetles and flies (they go for smelly plants, don't know why) as well as bees, which visit for the pollen. But it's not just insects that appreciate this plant. The ripe, seed-bearing spikes are eaten by squirrel and deer. 'Bears seek out the thick rootstocks as well as the leaves and fruit.' (Sources: Familiar Friends, Rhoda Whittlesey and Native Plants in the Coastal Garden, April Pettinger).
How about some ethnobotany information?
If you are wanting information regarding its value as a restoration/habitat plant and you are in Portland vicitinty, contact Angie Kimpo at Willowell Nursery, 503-245-3553. She's co-owner of a native plant nursery but when she lived in Washington, she wrote a book about wetland restoration. I think it was in King County but I'm not sure.
Good luck! I hope you can turn that hardliner into a fan. Or at least make him or her look a little less unfavorably on the poor ol' plant.
Oh, I almost forgot to say Welcome to Rainy Side and your post had everything to do with gardening!
Daniel
Posted: Jan-22-2005 at 12:23pm
You're right, if you consider nature as one big garden! Maybe my post had more to do with hands-off gardening than anything else. It's the best kind - unless you really like to get on hands and knees and get good and dirty every once in a while.
Thanks for the info, but I'm not sure if bears are really applicable to my situation! I actually told the groundskeeper who I referred to that skunk cabbage was an emergency food source, and he asked, 'For what?' and I had to reply, 'well....bears.' Needless to say, I failed to convince him on that point. Pollinators, squirrels, and deer are all great arguments if your view is one of respect for nature and if you value the health of an entire ecosystem. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that this person's view of nature is largely utilitarian and as something to control. I will however, take your advice and contact some native plant nurseries in my region (southwestern BC) for restoration value.
Lisa A
Joined: Aug-14-2003
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posts: 2524
Posted: Jan-22-2005 at 1:14pm
You might also try the Native Plant Society of British Columbia. IME, these organizations are good resources, particularly in the area of restoration work.
Wanda
Joined: Aug-15-2003
Location: Puget Sound corridor
Posted: Jan-24-2005 at 10:36am
You might mention that the prestigious Butchart Gardens in Victoria has Skunk Cabbage growing under a samll pedestrian bridge near the main entrance where it can be appreciated by all.
-Wanda
Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
By co-authors Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners) and Wendy Tweton