Western Skunk Cabbage Care

Lysichiton americanus, also known as American skunk-cabbage or swamp lantern, is a plant found in swamps and wet woods, along streams and in other wet areas of the Pacific Northwest, where it is one of the few native species in the arum family.

Lysichiton americanus is a tall herb (up to 1.5 m high, covering approximately 1 m 2 ground) with large (40-70 cm up to 1.5 m) glossy light green leaves coming from short thick fleshy rhizomes (up to 30 cm long and 2.5-5 cm diameter). The 1 to 2 (sometimes up to 4) inflorescences are surrounded by a showy bright yellow spathe up to 45 cm high, enclosing one fleshy, up to 25 cm long spadix carrying many flowers at the bottom. Flowers are small, yellowish green. Flowers consist of generally 4, sometimes 6 free or fused sepals. They usually flower between March and May before leaves appear. The fruits are green berries at the end of the spadix, and mature in its natural range from June to early August.