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First Published in Foxprint, May, 1997
There is a legend from the west coast Native peoples that says that in the ancient days there were no salmon. The people had nothing to eat in the winter except roots and leaves. Finally in the spring the salmon came for the first time. As they came up the river, a young woman stood on the shore and shouted, “Here come our relatives whose bodies are full of eggs. If I had not been here, all the people would have starved.” “Who speaks to us?” asked the salmon. “Your Aunt,” was her reply. The salmon came ashore to see her and she was rewarded for having fed the people. She was given an elk skin and a medicine staff and was set into the rich, soft soil near the river, to live the rest of her days.
Think of soft, rich, wet soils. Sometimes you find these areas in deep forests, and sometimes near roadsides, or near rivers. You know the place, where when you step bare foot, the cool soft mud oozes between your toes. The place, most people won’t dare to venture. But the adventurous ones will, like all you naturalists out there.
If you notice those wet, soggy places, check out what is growing there this time of year. You will notice bright spots of yellow color close to the ground. If you look closer you will see bright green leaves that will soon grow very large that start out lance-shaped then grow broad-shaped. These leaves are thin and taper to a short winged stalk. As the leaves grow, they seem to grow up in a way that protects the yellow part of the flower, sort of like the way a tulip grows, with the petals surrounding the stamens.
The flower is unusual looking, not like any other you may have seen in the wetlands. There actually are numerous little flowers that appear greenish-yellow and grow on thick, fleshy “axis,” like a medicine staff with feathers or shells around the top. This axis usually appears after the yellow hood, hence the elk skin in the story. The hood acts like an umbrella as the axis is growing, but soon the great leaves grow so large you will have to search into the center to find the flower.
This plant reminds me that spring is really here, as it grows around the same time as the leaves and flowers are all budding out and the once brown twigs of the trees and bushes are becoming full of green. It also is a sign to many of us who travel in the Snoqualmie Valley near Duvall that the floods are no more, for another year at least. However, this plant is a sign of water. The water that seeps from the hill sides or the streams that form deltas in the farm land, or in my Secret Spot, the underground springs that ooze up from the rich earth.
This plant was used mainly as famine food. In the early spring, in the Northwest, I am referring to the time before Imbolc (February 2) when you may notice closely the tinniest buds starting to appear on many plants, especially the trees. Usually just when the food caches have run out was when these plants were harvested for the roots which were steamed or roasted. The flower head were roasted and eaten like corn on the cob. The leaves were useful and even today are used to wrap salmon and other vegetables for steam pit cooking. In the ancient days, they were used to line berry baskets and as berry drying racks, or used like wax paper.
If you haven’t already skipped to the last paragraph and read the name (I have heard many confessions from you readers who do) this plant is not a hard one to figure out by reading all the descriptions. Here is one more hint. The name comes from a certain odor that this flower produces, however the plant looks nothing like what the name conjures up in one’s mind, and has nothing to do with who eats this plant.
Use your mind’s eye and imagine a black and white furry little creature with a bushy tail that can spray a foul smelling substance when it is provoked. See it? Well this animal’s odor can last for days, but this plants smell just reminds me of luscious moist, rich soiled marsh areas and of spring time. Its Latin name is Lysichiton americanum, and common name is Swamp Lantern. Gotcha!! That is one of its names but most know this one as Skunk Cabbage.
Eileen VanBronkhorst is a practitioner of the Wise Woman Tradition, who has written a series of articles for Wilderness Awareness School, in addition to this one on Skunk Cabbage. She is a homeschooling mom, an herbalist, gardener, naturalist, tracker, spinner, weaver and I am sure I am leaving out a few of her talents. :) THANKS Eileen!
How did you do on the plant quiz? The Kamana Naturalist Training Program is a great way to learn the wild plants of your area. You'll pass the plant identification quiz with flying colors!
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