SimplePlant

Araceae

Skunk cabbage

Symplocarpus foetidus (L.) Salisb. ex W.P.C.Barton

Family
Araceae
Genus
Symplocarpus

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Skunk cabbage: Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus
Photo: Sue Sweeney., CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Common names

By language (15)
Arabic
كرنب نتن
Chinese
臭菘, 臭菘叶, 臭菘种子, 黑瞎子白菜
Czech
Skunkovka páchnoucí
English
Skunk cabbage, Clumpfoot Cabbage, Eastern skunk Cabbage, Foetid pothos, Meadow Cabbage, Polecat Weed or Swamp Cabbage
Finnish
Suohaisuhuppu
Icelandic
Skunkakál
Japanese
ザゼンソウ, ざぜん草, 座禅草, 達磨草
Korean
앉은부채
pdc
Bisskatzegraut
Persian
کلم مرداب
Polish
Skupnia
Russian
Связноплодник вонючий, Связноплодник зловонный, Симплокарпус вонючий, Симплокарпус зловонный
Slovenian
Smrdeči simplokarp
Spanish
Ictodes, Spathyema
Swedish
Björnkalla

Synonyms

  • Dracontium foetidum L.
  • Ictodes foetidus (L.) Bigelow
  • Pothos foetidus (L.) Aiton
  • Pothos putorii Barton
  • Spathyema angusta Raf.
  • Spathyema foetida (L.) Raf.
  • Spathyema lanceolata Raf.
  • Spathyema latifolia Raf.

Flowers

In flower
March to April (from 5,367 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
Flower colour
purple (USDA PLANTS Database)

Characteristics

Growth habit
Forb/herb
Lifespan
Perennial
In the US and Canada
Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native

Photos

More in Symplocarpus

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.