Medicinal Monday - Skunk Cabbage

You will never forget an unexpected step on a skunk cabbage plant especially when you smell the putrid odor this plant exudes!  One whiff of this "odor-ific" plant and you will understand how it got its name! Native Americans had several ingenious ways of using this early springtime plant for food as well as for medicinal purposes.

Distinguishing Characteristics

Skunk cabbage is a wildflower that is one of the earliest wild plants to send up a blossom in the spring.  Skunk Cabbage is usually found in swamps, wetlands, woods and near streams.  Look for a cone-shaped furl of mottled purple leaves that are waiting to bloom in March.  The leaves of this plant are large, almost pre-historic looking and mottled with contrasting patches of bright green making them easy to spot. 

In addition to its putrid smell, the most interesting characteristic of this plant is that it can regulate its temperature well above the outside temperature throughout the day and night.  This allows the skunk cabbage plant to melt the ice and snow around it!  The leaves decay in the early summer but unlike other plants whose leaves dry out and fall off, the leaves of this plant dissolve into a black slimy substance that soaks back into the ground.

Medicinal and Other Uses

Native Americans would harvest the root and then dry and pound it into a powder.   This peppery flavored powder would be added to a tea or stew and used to sooth lung ailments, including asthmatic and bronchial spasms.  

The dried leaves of this plant were also used by Native Americans who would brew a tea with them or put them in a medicinal stew in order to treat coughs, and be used as a blood purifier, kidney cleanser and to ease the pain of labor.  Many Northwest Native people used the leaves as a soothing poultice for cuts and swellings.

The roots of this plant were harvested and steamed in-ground cooking pits and were sometimes referred to as Indian potatoes.  The large older leaves called "Indian wax paper" was used to collect and dry berries.  Skunk cabbage was also used in combination with other herbs for tattooing.

Did you Know...

The leaf, flower, and root of this plant should never be eaten raw because it contains calcium oxalate crystals that produce a terrible burning sensation.

The age of a skunk cabbage can be found through its leaves. Young plants have many just a few leaves and old plants have many.

The eastern skunk cabbage have roots that grow down and contract, the plant is pulled into the earth. As the plant sinks deeper and deeper, the lower leaves are forced underground.  To find out if it is an old plant, dig down into the ground to look for leaves. 

The odor of the skunk cabbage attracts bees and flies which pollinate the plant.

The Institute for American Indian Studies

Located on 15 woodland acres the IAIS has an outdoor Three Sisters and Healing Plants Gardens as well as a replicated 16th c. Algonkian Village.  Inside the museum, authentic artifacts are displayed in permanent, semi-permanent and temporary exhibits from prehistory to the present that allows visitors a walk through time. The Institute for American Indian Studies is located on 38 Curtis Road in Washington Connecticut and can be reached online or by calling 860-868-0518.

The Institute for American Indian Studies preserves and educates through discovery and creativity the diverse traditions, vitality, and knowledge of Native American cultures. Through archaeology, the IAIS is able to build new understandings of the world and history of Native Americans, the focus is on stewardship and preservation.  This is achieved through workshops, special events, and education for students of all ages.